strong words leap laterally
out-rigged guided by stars
north star not visible below
sea storm sea upon sea
wavecrest sees wavecrest
word to word
sibilant seafoam speaks
nothing to nothing flows
currents slip through sea
driven by what
desire to be heard
to be other than here
what vision launched these ships
* * *
we move murmuring stories
telling our lives in order to live
the words match the oars strokes
patterns patterning what we say
around us the sea surges
emotion and motion merge
sun and salt scorch skin
birds beckon toward horizon
with landfall a new tale triumphs
terror and travail of sea trail
trepidation tying us together
tranquility transcending turmoil
(from “Primogenitive Folly,” August 2001-April 2003)
