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I Saw Five Ships Come Sailing In
by Kristina WoodhillFour river tugboats and an old barge
Floated in through the heavy door to the urologist office
Laughter and light waves surged before,
O2 tanks in tow for the old barge and tugboat mate
Generous tire fenders in place,
The other three bobbing gently, fore and aft,
Their voices uplifting on the same sea breeze
I, harbor tugboat in waiting,
Had docked earlier this becalmed morning
As far
As possible
From the seagull-shrill
Receptionist station
My barge and his mate
Deep in the bowels of this
Whale of a good time
Small fleet of five docked and anchored
Pages of blank forms filled
Tank tubing and weak yardarms
Secured
Their good-humored,
Waiting moments
Transformed
The flagging level of that small pond
Barnacles in full view
Roughly scraped decks unashamed
Their spirits seemed to float
Above surrounding superfluous nonsense
Doctors and needles, catheters and what-comes-next
They knew their crew would pull together
And to my wonderment
When Nurse Squiddy-eyes
Called out,
“Barge!”
As one, these five
Sailed off
Down narrow Red Sea hallway
Expanding without hesitation
Into one vast ocean of love
And I remained,
Bouyed
12/13/2012
Posted on 12/13/2012
Copyright © 2025 Kristina Woodhill
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Ken Harnisch on 12/14/12 at 01:01 PM What a metaphor!...best i've seen here in a while, Kristina, and so uplifting, despite the subject matter. Way to go, lady! |
| Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 12/17/12 at 01:19 PM Maybe I'm mistaken, but I recall your telling me about your elderly parents and their oxygen tanks. I agree with Ken, turing something concrete into a nuatical metaphor is brilliant. |
| Posted by Jody Pratt on 01/27/13 at 04:29 PM Oh buoy do I love those last two lines! |
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