Landlocked


If I were the captain
I wish I could be,
I would sail all the seas
from farthest away
to closest to me,
spars sodden and creaking
in tempers of tempests,
or straight still and silent
with dry
slack
sheets.

I would know all the oceans
their ships and their sails
their mariners’ secrets
of masterful knots

With sole undulations
of decks over waves
no trip but a voyage
no song but a shanty
and hope as my helm
escape as my star
I would sail from today
and never too far