Good morning
Light stretching & taking hold
Too long under these covers
Happenchance favors the bold
Time to spread these sea legs
Arching my back & flexing my arms
It feels good to still be alive
We’ve shuttered close, yet escaped any harm
Falling stars upon the Caribbean
Heat baking down to my bones
Wishing for a spit of dry land &
Marooned with a lady of nice tones
Mirages dancing out on the water
Out on the flight deck for the breeze
Need to flesh out my humid mind
Fantasies alive out on the high seas
A naked woman upon the figurehead
Standing proud in the breeze
Calling to the Sirens & wenches
Knowing the truth of these seas
Her beauty remaining firm & intact
The ship around her orange with rust
The sailors with splinters in their palms
For she has a wooden bust
Riding out these rough seas
Trying to shield our shipwrecked daughters
Storms moving in on us rather quickly
Feeling Hell’s heat & it’s only getting hotter
From port to port, not knowing where to go
Remaining free & clear is the only way to live
Every day out on this cleansing ocean
I pray to the Lord, in the chance He might forgive
Ran out of highways
So I took to the sea
Rejecting society
Not for them to decree
It’s lonely out here
Writing by starlight
Don’t have the answers
But I know what’s right
TGIF & all that rot
Running when I’d rather be in bed
Needing to return to comfort
Sweat dripping down my backside instead
The sun rises over the sea
Seeing a fresh day start anew
Out of breath, but feeling alive
Faster I run, sooner I’m back to you
Taking time to exist in faded dreams
The errant thoughts of a noble mind
Our hands smoothing the stray lines
The margins left blank & us unrefined
Ripped pages scribbled with defaulted hope
We try to emerge from the harrowing sea
But what more can we write about love
The caution of trying to speak of what might be
Taking me back
California nights long ago
Palm lined beaches
The prettiest I know
Youthful charm & bravado
Flirting down by the sea
I’m taken back these days
By the sounds of Social D
Dissipating quietly on a warming shore
Seeing lightning strike off the coast
A subtle snapshot to something more
I think I’m free, but still haunted by her ghost
There’s a storm is coming this way
You can feel it heading from out to sea
We’re gonna get a bit of a blow today
Teeth to the wind; no place I’d rather be
I saw her through the glittering sun
Perched high upon the lifeguard stand
Perfectly sculpted under bright sky
Knees weak, tripping in the soft sand
The gulls echoing a distant cry
Dreams of love & what could be
The salt air marinating upon our skin
I’ve lost my heart here upon the sea
I want to run away & join the circus
To be done with this life at sea
To kiss the ground she walks on
Solid foundations forever under me
Scribbling love notes to my lady
Creating a new world of literary lust
A positive existence springing forth
My happiness nestled within her bust
Finding the energy to jump up
To start the day in the sunshine
Collecting smiles from fresh faces
& always returning to the love that’s mine
Pouring another coffee to revive my soul
The blacker the better; deeper than the sea
Knowing secrets which youth will always deny
That happiness is real & it’s forever free
Nonsense & miscalculations they always spew
For they see glitter & everything they never tried
But experience will tell you simple is better
& anything worth fighting for is kept on the inside
Image by Alexander Belyaev from Pixabay
Finding the sunshine
Feeling the glorious heat
Remembering the time
Our lonely lips did meet
Saving me from despair
A slow march to the sea
Loosening of our tongues
Another chance to be free
Getting our bodies outside
A good stretch in open air
I love your everything, but
You’re best when you’re bare
No longer interested
Tell them mermaids I’m through
Adventure doesn’t beckon
My sea legs won’t follow you
I’m too old for folly
Here, I must bid you so long
Fair winds & all that
Can’t remain within earshot of the siren’s song
Sorry, but I can’t stay here any longer
It’s once again time to return to the sea
Home aboard that damned iron boat
Sold my soul, so now I’m no longer free
There’s magic in knowing the soul
you cannot live without
Is more precious than anything in front of you
The inability to cease from a scream or shout
The seas have parted
Allowing visions to reach us within earshot
You can only see the beauty of a cherished soul
Neither are we perfect, but we’re all we’ve got
Translucence when we slumber
Taken away to the shores of our dreams
The impossible comfort of paradise
Allowing for beliefs to be more than they seem
Ripping out pages
As I write these down
Better swim to shore
Before you drown
This isn’t the place
For the likes of you
A filthy bastard
Set adrift, it’s true
But be grateful
With me to thank
For the boys here
Wanted you upon the plank
Inevitably waiting by the dock
Sunshine rising on a chilly landscape
But I still must set sail
The future playing out along time’s stellar shape
My heart will remain here with you
No matter how far away upon the sea
Throughout the incoming squalls
Within your bosom; exactly where I’m to be
Running headlong into Winter
The cold air forced inside my lungs
Stopping abruptly at the end of the dock
Arms out, catching a snowflake on my tongue
I ran out of land again
Isolated out here with my soul about to freeze
There’s no place left to escape
Shanghai’d again! My fate lies on the high seas
To my beloved friends
Though we live in far off places
& may not have the honor
Of gracing each other’s faces
The sands of time are finite
& we have so many demands
On how we spend each grain
Whether I’m at sea or on dry land
Yet know, I keep you with me
Close to this weary heart
Gather in for a New Years’ toast
Opportunity for a fresh start
Oh, where does our journey end
Or begin, as it so often might seem
Futile attempts to erase the past
The unknown details of our dreams
The open road panders to a false escape
The mere opportunity to rewrite a sojourn
Jesus perambulating with Uncle Walt
Debating the path; perchance to learn
Shaky prospects in apportioned time
Manifest destiny teases Ginsburg & Kerouac
Further roads leading to ornate wisdom
& we keep it concealed out in the back
Thoreau mocking society with his solitude
Knowing alone is the greatest we could ever be
Thoughts come to us in gentle waves
That perhaps our visions should become the sea
A reinterpretation of westward expansion
Route 66 cross-contaminating Highway 61
All roads have never led us home
Emily tempting Death with her life left undone
The growing wisdom of our consumed space
Emerson’s penning pre-revolutionary blues
Introducing our souls to unrefined grace
The Good Lord providing Her unfiltered muse
Feeble humanity; lost across the tracks
Original sin that we’ve taken on the chin
Sifting thought; we might be welcomed again
But knock off the Devil’s dust before you come in
You don’t see it
The boys not getting enough sleep
Those who have abandoned their homes
Keeping watch over the watery deep
You don’t see it
Those who dream of something better
Youth sacrificing blindly
Riding the tide, salt spray getting wetter
You don’t see it
Loading sea bags in early morning hours
Walking the gangplank in the face of fear
Trusting their lives to a Greater Power
Taking a moment to pause
Allowing all the colors & sounds
To penetrate my senses
I’m going to miss being around
Soon to return to the sea
Riding waves with crushing might
Darkness closing in on me
Holding fast to escape the night
*not really going back to sea. just remembering the feeling of writing this before the holidays a few years ago
Let’s go get lost
Under the towering trees
Let’s go lose our way
Where Redwoods meet the sea
Let’s close our eyes
& let Mother Nature steer
Let’s never come back
No dreams left for us here
Sunshine cresting from the sea
A soul to be filled with love’s perfection
A mere vessel to carry on this life
Beating in my heart’s reflection
Allow me to circumvent your plans
Wedging myself in your obvious way
Please look me gently in the eyes
This happiness; where forever stays
You’re more than you’ll ever know
Our tandem rhythmically in stride
Your taste is existence’s paragon
Evermore with me at your side
Rigormortis of the soul
Dejected along emotional failings
Tempered seas begin to roll
White knuckles; hold fast to the railings
Sorting feelings like a rolodex
Trampled yearning from Jaguar years
Unprepared for survival
Causing the most elaborate of your fears
Processing out foreign memories
But the answers just get in the way
Undisciplined in self-diagnosis
A sturdy smile in the face of the seaspray
The only remaining dregs
No longer comprehending sunshine
Somehow lost my sea legs
Damn, this must be some fine wine
I hear the sea calling
I must traverse her once more
Collecting my wares
Looking for the key to her door
It’s never a pleasant voyage
For I know who I leave behind
But The Lord comforts me
& I have memories to remind
Forgotten in the ether
Against the stones on the shore
Fatigue hitting hard at sunrise
Before the day might restore
You cannot outlive a memory
Our fates left to a diminished chance
Bound to the sea by luck or force
Drifting silently with suspicious circumstance
Dog eared postcards & other totems
Words from home to quench the tide
Meandering scribbles in the margin
Dreading the prospect of another ride
You speak of the boatman
But you’ve never been down
To where the river meets the sea
We seek out a forgotten spark
But you never cared for others
The blinding discord of tranquility
A love that’s only known to me
Weigh anchor – Sail with the tide
When I’m off exploring the sea
A lass that’s sassy & steadily free
Couldn’t forget her, Lord knows I tried
A love that’s only known to me
When the winds cry like a Banshee
The ocean will be my endless guide
When I’m off exploring the sea
Venturing off to a land of palm trees
Needing to nurse my wounded pride
A love that’s only known to me
In spite of life, still merely a latchkey
Waiting for when my sails have dried
When I’m off exploring the sea
A pirate – all I ever wanted to be
I’ll forever hold who’s on my side
A love that’s only known to me
When I’m off exploring the sea
By day, you’re out fighting wars
Wherever politicians decide you need to roam
Diplomacy by air, land & sea
& the lucky ones get to return home
But your training doesn’t include this
Unsure how exactly to be a regular guy
Babies & tiaras & unicorns bebopping around
How to explain a child’s smile can make you cry
Image by Sally Wynn from Pixabay
Crisp ocean force winds
Gentle fresh citrus scent
Lost upon the eternal sea
Forgot where beauty went
A treatise of delicate love
Evidence of a ghost
Smile your sweet smile
I’ve left for the coast
Sound of muted voices
She’s a little too cute
Allowing no more secrets
Down through my roots
Bluer than words allow
God’s great oceans set free
Not to be contained
You cannot own the sea
Technological advances
Now seem so moot
Driftwood without direction
A sailor has no roots
Hanging with beach bums & bashful babes
Swimming in the surf on late Spring days
Colorful flavors poured gently over ice
Skin glowing after hours in the pleasant rays
I thought I saw a Sea Hag along the sand
Though she revealed herself to be a Siren
Coaxing & teasing me with her demure allure
Whispering that I might be a modern Lord Byron
Uncomfortable with compliments of any sort
I quietly pull out my pen to jot down an ode
Her eyes grow wide, then a smirk & a wink
Simultaneously my mind, heart & loins explode
I’m trying to find the rhythm to life
The way for our souls to feel fresh & free
Purging the endless stress & strife
Standing open in the sunshine, just you & me
I’m trying to find more substance in life
While being cleansed by the Lord’s cool sea
Forever embracing my beloved, beautiful wife
Together; is the only place I’ll ever want to be
Wading through seawater in your dress
Clinging to your delicious curves
Exposing the universe to me
Standing at attention; all my nerves
You’re the anomaly of this world
Virtue & flexibility of our seams
Wrap your legs around my mind
Allow me the most sensuous dreams
Never to rejoin this delinquent society
Let me lead you with hands on your hips
To paradise removed from their hate
With nothing but flirtation on your lips
Gimme sass with a shake of that ass
Raising toasts to love in a crystal chalice
Our passion overflows conventional wisdom
Since I’m directed by the sapience of my phallus
I promise to hold you close all our days
& to occasionally provide your kind of cuddle
But I’ll always do that thing you like so well
The one that never fails to leave you in a puddle
Lost in a deteriorating moment
What more can we do to be free
Close our eyes to the darkness
Tiptoeing quietly, down to the sea
Searching franticly for the answer
But the obvious truth is often a ghost
False memories are unruly traipses
Inclinations leading me, down the coast
Is there a way to be clean again
To bathe in the ocean’s gentle roar
Hope against hope; possibly a way
To find sunshine that might restore
Down by where the river meets the sea
If you go missing me, that’s where I’ll be
Kicking stones, pondering this existence
The sun rises yet again at love’s insistence
These stories are figments of hope
Simple words from a mind of an everyday man
These theatrics of an unknown sort
Living through each day without scope or plan
Journey to the water’s edge to find a salve
To bathe our souls in God’s great sea
I’m not close to your idea of perfection
But I’m forgiven; a better concept to be
Don’t tell me how’s its gonna be
When you’ve never been
I’ve seen the angry sea
You’re not among the salty men
Don’t act like you have a clue
Clinging to the dirt
You’ve never seen a color that blue
Never felt your soul cringe & hurt
You’re looking for easy praise
Don’t want to be a weathered cog
Riding waves on endless days
You’re still crisp; a mere pollywog
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
Floating amongst the blue
My bones drying in the heat
I’m still thinking about you
Relaxation, such a novel treat
Life cherished in these days
Not the change you wanted to see
Time ignored in many ways
I am sorry, for I am still only me
“One must be a sea, to receive a polluted stream without becoming impure.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
“The time has come, my little friends, to talk of other things
Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings
And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings
Calloo, Callay, come run away / With the cabbages and kings”
– The Walrus
Captain Q 