The Voyage
There are spaces in the sky
The mind can reach
Through to travel beyond
That star on the right that
Star on the left and
Go on into infinite
Dark weightlessness -
The mind buoys itself
By thought alone, it
Needs no gravity to sing
And travel far.
Down here my voyage of one
Has come to a dark and
Silent place. The black sky
Wheels its star crystals
Above my head, the moon
Makes the icebergs
Luminously green and the
Sea of glass goes on and
On.
I negotiate the mooning
Forms of the bergs
One by one. The smooth
Sea stretches endlessly,
Blackly, and the jagged
Ghostly peaks pass me by
To port and starboard.
The wind is still, the sea
Quiet and the
Forward glide of my ship
Satisfyingly steady.
My engine rumbles
Nicely with no rough
Sounds, it is oiled and
Wheeled and pumping as it
Should. These cold and
Silent wastes and the
Brightest stars are my graced
Works and days. I am
Steady at the helm, calm,
Take careful long slow turns,
Giving large and
Jagged ones a wide
Berth. And it is
Enough, this place of
Gliding smoothly self-
Propelled. Now and then
I raise my eyes from
The vast and silent
Shapes I must avoid,
The sky with its sharp stars,
The glassy sea, and
Turn my eyes to the
Dark horizon
Where a line of gold waits
To rise
And herald dawn
Breaking the night like
An egg and
All the light will spill yellow,
Running-in on us and
Distil the darkness away.
Then my icebergs will
Melt and fade, my
Seas will rise and
Toss their heads, my engine
Fire from .D..E. ahead slow .D..E. to
D..E. Full speed .D..E. and I will
Steam my way briskly to that
Waiting island basking
In the sun, a crescent
Inlet will form,
Before my eyes the palm trees
Sway, the sand will be
A hot delight, and there,
There I will
Drop anchor
And stay. .D..E..
previous poem
next poem