'You have been my friend,' replied Charlotte. 'That in itself is a tremendous thing.”
~E.B. White
Lighthouse at Camden Maine by Fitz Henry Lane
Happy New Year, y'all! Thanks for all you do throughout the year, whether it be things you share, your comments, or your good wishes across the miles! They are much appreciated, every day. Today's poem:
The Old Ship
by Tabatha Yeatts
The old ship
Watches the water,
Ready to sail again.
In the waning of the year,
The weathered vessel docked in port,
Where its sturdy hull was emptied,
Cleaned, polished, and refilled,
Where it stood
Beholding the town's lights --
That landed constellation --
With its planks humming the winter songs.
Today, it feels the pull
Of the waves,
And strikes off,
Perhaps on a new trajectory,
Perhaps on a route
It has traced before.
But anything can happen at sea,
And the cargo it brings to shore
Next December
Will be a revelation.
**********
The Poetry Friday round-up is at A Year of Reading. Thanks, Mary Lee!
Yes! Anything can happen at sea! I love this poem. I am sending it straightaway to my father, who is in the midst of any number of transitions. Thank you, Tabatha. And that Charlotte quote! Love. Happy New Year, my friend! xo
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I was just coming to comment on the same line Irene already quoted. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to even imagine what the ship will hold by next December! Love your metaphor here, and would love to know more about your process. Did the poem come first, and then the picture, or vice versa? Did you set out to write a new year's poem, or did that just happen?
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, love the poem, love the message, love the quote, and so blessed to "know" you through Poetry Friday (and swaps)!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, my friend! I'd be interested in hearing your answers to Mary Lee's questions, too! I'm always interested in process.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I did a library blog post about the USS Constitution. That ship is more than 200 years old! I bet if it set sail today, it would still find the wind to move it forward!
Such gorgeous mystery in this poem, Tabatha. I love that - "anything can happen at sea." So beautiful. Happy Happy New Year to you and yours...I wish you magical and safe sailing! xo
ReplyDeleteThank you for dignifying the start of the new year with a majestic poem, a tribute to age, which holds the promise of new beginnings and gifts, unveiled in retrospect. I especially like that the old ship was acted upon at the start, as if vulnerable and feeble compared with a young ship, but, ah!, at the end, the old ship is in control, and bearing untold presents. Thank you! It's good on New Year's Day to be serious, and your poem, indeed, inspires me to think very seriously about life and death and all the setting-sail times in between! God bless you! Ship ahoy!
ReplyDeleteCharlotte is so wise, as is your ship setting sail for a new journey. Where we will be this time next year, no one knows, but we will travel hand in hand, holding each other afloat. Thanks for all you do to inspire the sharing and caring of our words and friendships.
ReplyDeleteYou set sail on a wonderful metaphor poem, Tabatha. May your year be richly rewarding.
ReplyDeleteThanks, all! :-) Mary Lee, I was looking around for a New Year's poem for today and decided I'd write one, so that's what came first. I found the art when I was putting this post together. It's lovely, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteEach year is a revelation, isn't it? What a perfect metaphor!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written, friend! Here's to a year of smooth sailing and grand adventure!
ReplyDeleteThe ship of the year--it turns slowly and yet we find ourselves arrived,
ReplyDelete"Beholding the town's lights --
That landed constellation --
With its planks humming the winter songs"
before we know it these days. May your new voyage be just as adventurous and smooth as you wish, Tabatha!
Tabatha, I am so glad that Donna showcased your poem this week for Poetry Friday since I missed it when first posted. It is a fine poem to start the year when trajectories are being thought about. Where shall the boat travel: a new route or a traced one before? Since life is unpredictable "anything can happen at sea". Powerful thoughts. Would you like to offer this poem and the art work to my upcoming gallery, Winter Wanderings? If so, send it to me via gmail.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Carol. A latecomer to this post, but so glad that Donna brought it to my attention! Lovely poem, Tabatha. Glad to be a passenger on your life's journey.
ReplyDelete