Lighthouse Keepers and Single-Minded Yachtsmen, Poetry

[prydefoltz]

Lighthouse Keepers & Single-Minded Yachtsmen

fill a kettle
light the gas
fire up the elemental

be patient but wary

your minute, personal tempest
           simmers long
before it boils away in a blink

will it be whiskey or brandy
           maybe some rum ...
you mix with your lightkeeper's brew

go slow
take your oblivion
one shot at a time

dose in hand
retire to your porthole
           overlook
what is a lovely view
but only in good weather

this long night ...

Polaris is scrubbed out
beneath steel-wool clouds
in the sparks and soot
there is no seeing the Way

alone, upon dark waves
           persists
a single-minded yachtsman
his gliding and swinging ways
           long lost upstream
his course now sodden and shortened
the gale-drunk seafarer knows
tack with economy
           or be washed away in the rage
drowned in silent eddies

why not open
your drop-splattered pane
call out and invite the journeyer in
be more than a glimpsed beacon
                     to a lost navigator
would he mistake the warmth
the energetic vibrato in your tones
for the sizzled warning
of a coming lightening strike

he's a little further
                     down-current
this rain-pelted mariner
haphazardly jettisoned
increasingly absorbed
   in the turbulent flow
           a waterlogged cork
bearth-less, adrift
aquatic detritus
cast off ... and away
from the high-life at sea

a dead or mast-head
the difference ...
a question of time
and the rising water level

still ... why not open your portal
                               call out the Way

***

All words and images are my own

Looking for more, check out my amazon page. Click on any title below and it will take you there.

Comments

[moeknows]

This was a great write, @prydefoltz. I really enjoyed the imagery of the steel wool clouds. What a great metaphor.

[prydefoltz]

Thanks, Moe. I appreciate the read and especially the comment:)

[moeknows]

You're always welcome. How's the Amazon thing work out for you? I've often thought about it, but figured there wasn't much of a market for poetry.

[prydefoltz]

It is a labour of love, that is for sure. But I do sell the odd book.

[moeknows]

Would you advise other authors to do it? Do you self-publish? Have you tried other things like patreon? Sorry for the rapid fire questions.

[prydefoltz]

I would say do it; but don't do it for the money. There isn't much. Only very few authors will ever make a living at this. It is could to have another gig. I have a patreon account but I have not developed it.

[moeknows]

Thanks, Pryde. I've toyed around with the idea for a while. I appreciate your insight.

[raykershaw]

Brilliant!! Loved it :)

[prydefoltz]

Thanks so much, Ray:)

[sunravelme]

These liiiiiiiiiiiinesssssss
"take your oblivion
one shot at a time"

[prydefoltz]

Thank you, Kara:)

[wwwiebe]

tack with economy
or be washed away in the rage

This really sits with me. Sometimes it's easier to "go with the flow" than be a salmon fighting your way upstream. Yet all he needs is a guiding light to help him through.

[prydefoltz]

Thank you, Victor. Yes that guiding light is essential.

[momzillanc]

Outstanding, Pryde! I love this so much. I don't recall having read it before. Is it a new piece?

Resteemed and curated to writing-curation in @c-squared on Discord

[prydefoltz]

Thank you, Denise. Yes, it is new.

[c-squared]

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