NO SEA CAPTAIN'S HOMECOMING

This is an interesting poem as I have no idea of where it came from. The idea came into my mind near fully formed.

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE FUNERAL

if he had stayed in this village

and lived out his life amongst these men

he would be sharing their silence

but here he is talking

about people and places of which

they know little and care less

wordlessly judging him

by their own lived experience

that’s how it always goes

now his father is dead

the last link severed

he will not return

for him there would be no

sea captain’s homecoming

with money and tales of the ocean

no

he would be like Lot

and he will not look back

It comes from my latest collection The Wait of Water. It is a poem I often include at my readings. It goes down well but then it is pretty straightforward.

Here's Bridget St. John with I Don't Know If I Can Take It. 

Until next time.