Sunday 26 October 2014

Companion

dismay, delight
frustration, exhilaration


how can you be here
how can you be in this place
a haven
but so completely away from my life


you're not here
you can't be here


how can
silence
wind
solitude
be the companion that waits for me here


but you are here
the scent of you is here


i shake my head
it's the island
it's plants, the trees, the flora of the island that i smell
it's not you


i lay back on the deck
silently, quietly
the wind continues to caress my skin
and the fog sweeps back in


it overwhelms the stars
the moon succombs too
it is all gone
just the wind
the fog and i


shaking my head
didn't help
not one little bit
you're still there


alone


forever, my forever, it really has been forever
i have known you
the scent is still there
it's been entwined in my life
hidden all the time
but always there


i draw it in
deeply
allowing it to enter me deeply


it's strange how it calls to me
it's strange how it seems so familiar
i could swear this was the first time
i had ever known you


alone


gone
it's gone
the wind is gone
the fog is back and encompassing
gone too
are you
my aloneness is gone


much to do
a boat doesn't look after itself
scrubbing
tending
lines to be checked
each rope, each sheet, each line
carefully checked, caressed and treated with tenderness


my life depends on this boat
carries me through life
bears me safely through the waters
needs to be cared for


the sails
laid out and checked
stress points eased
a fold that may turn into a tear
smoothed and laid back to rest


the wood
the most beautiful part
grained and worn
oiled and sanded


i hesitate
that wind
is back
the scent is back
arghhhhhh


back to tending
forget the scent
forget the wind


working from the bow to the stern
oiling the wood
feeling the grain
drawing out the fine tones of the wood
from the weather and sea worn timbers


it takes time
to tend to a boat
but once done
beautiful


i stand and admire
bathed in the moon light
bathed in the star light
the fog is gone again
i barely noticed
i didn't notice


alone with my boat
my companion
made of wood, rope and sail


the wind still lingers
if the boat is my companion
the wind is


fickle, sensuous and ever present
powerful, persuasive
tempting


the wind draws me from safety
into adventure
into storms
into beauty


life stands still when there is no wind
life becomes bland
the more powerful
the more persuasive
the bigger the adventure


and carries you
you who have always been there
carries you to me
and me to where
where does the wind carry me


alone


with my companion


oiled
sweaty
stained
tired
and weary


my companion looks beautiful
for our next adventure


alone


fleetingly
you're there again
that wind
bringing you to me
i hate the wind
i love the wind


movement
on the shore
on the beach


why would i think
i was alone
the sounds of the sky
the sounds of the sea
and the sounds of the land
flow in on me


why would i think that
there are many around
in the sea, in the air and on the land
amazing
that i missed them
immersed in myself
and my companion


they are all around
everywhere
fish
birds
crabs
noises everywhere
movement everywhere


and you
on the shore
is it you
on the shore
it is you
on the shore


always
i have known you
and the wind
has brought me to you


alone
both alone




(C) Copyright Luke Visser 2014 (written Oct 2014)

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