the sea spirit (She)

When we saw the Sea Spirit from Ushuaia harbor it appeared as a not too large shipping vessel nestled in amongst other much larger ones.  As we excitedly noticed the sought for logo it struck us that the other ships were all much larger than ours.

 

Small but strong

 

As we climbed out of our buses and onto it, it remained a not so larger shipping vessel.  For the first two days and nights on board it pervaded my mind as a hulk of a thing lurching through the waters.  My only sense of it was that it rocked and rolled and whirred.  Its body was an abstract metal of which its  weather proofness seemed the only connection that I could make. 

 

The interior reminded me of a woe begone casino.  Its laquered and brass surfaces shining hopefully in the dimness of a cabin light.

 

Then the captain addressed us in his traditional captains welcome.  He mentioned nabout the crew and how hard they work.  He then said the date that she was born.  The actual, real life use of the word she had a dramatic effect on my relationship with this not so large shipping vessel.  No longer was it something that had been causing me to feel continuously slightly drunk .  It was living.

 

Now when I lie in bed the gentle rolling is like a mother lulling me to sleep.  The hum equates to the soft heavy breath of a half asleep human.  I can feel her arms around me, her body edging closer.

 

The lunges now feel like breaths.  Each roll is another intake of energy that will allow it to move forward on her journey.  The captain said she knows where to go. We must let her get there.

 

 This is the poem that I submitted for the poetry competition on board the boat.d the

She (Sea Spirt)

A metal hulk lurching through dark deep waters

Abstract metal denoting functionality

Rolling and whirring – threatening to throw me

Then

A birth date; a mention of knowledge

Humming and murmuring – lulling me to sleep

A life, a skin easing through dark deep waters

The heavy breath of a half asleep human

She knows where to go and we must let her get there