THE LONG WAY AROUND
He’d come the long way around to hating
water, the tiller tight in his hand,
a face full of iced, slushed storms, and waves
that heaved and rolled, like a matron’s bouncing,
heavy bosom. He wanted to girdle
the sea into submission, and cursed
the days when waves filled his head with foul sick.
He braved each day, facing the wind, retching
into sails of spray, and fractured waves
that lashed the deck. He was exhausted,
and God help him, a mere midway across
the Pacific. He knew that he’d come
the long way around to hating water.
He and his boat pitching about like
oxygen-parched fish, while below in the blue-
tinted serenity of this fluid world,
a school of silvered chainmaille fish
caress the edges of meringue-peaked waves,
seducing and teasing the boat’s
quivering keel with their fins.
water, the tiller tight in his hand,
a face full of iced, slushed storms, and waves
that heaved and rolled, like a matron’s bouncing,
heavy bosom. He wanted to girdle
the sea into submission, and cursed
the days when waves filled his head with foul sick.
He braved each day, facing the wind, retching
into sails of spray, and fractured waves
that lashed the deck. He was exhausted,
and God help him, a mere midway across
the Pacific. He knew that he’d come
the long way around to hating water.
He and his boat pitching about like
oxygen-parched fish, while below in the blue-
tinted serenity of this fluid world,
a school of silvered chainmaille fish
caress the edges of meringue-peaked waves,
seducing and teasing the boat’s
quivering keel with their fins.
Marilyn “Misky” Braendeholm lives in the United Kingdom. Her interests include religious (gothic) architecture, gardening, recipe testing, baking yeasted and sourdough bread, photography, and writing. She has participated in four NaPoWriMo challenges, starting in 2010, and has poems and fiction published with Mouse Tales Press, Sprouts Magazine, and poetry with Pyrokinection. She has two grown sons and two grandchildren. You can find more of her work at her writing blog and her cooking blog. Poetry: http://miskmask.wordpress.com and Cooking and Photography: http://miskcooks.wordpress.com
Brilliant! Way to go, Misky. I'm always thrilled to read your poetry :-)
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Mariya Koleva
" meringue peaked waves" just one of many rich images - title going the long way round" beautifully evocative :)
ReplyDeleteI, too, love the idea of meringue peaked waves.
ReplyDeleteAnother fan of the meringue peaked waves, although I'm also partial to the chainmaille fish. I can almost smell the salt in the air. J. B. Everett
ReplyDeleteLove this take, Misky (as someone enamored of the sea). So much to love here: meringue- peaked waves, matron's bouncing, heavy bosom. Rich descriptions, and a feeling of longing, quiet desolation. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteThank you, my friends, and thank you for your continued support. I'm also very grateful to Amy for finding a home for my little pieces.
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