POEM 02

Reflected in the glass of the observation deck, it was like a fire on the horizon. That setting sun spoke all of my dread. A storm threatened in the clouds above the

vessel. They looked like crooked rows in a plowed field, yet dark and golden. Will this storm at sea bring a new fear in me? After all I was promised contentment, a oneness

with the watery world. Will the burgeoning night cover the ominous view?

I slipped away to let my fear seep from me, if it would, to let it drown in dark waters. Oh to see land again, to smell the earth.

My dinner started to rise, my head swam for shore. All the glass, the clear icy glass around me doubling the sight of the mounting waves. In all the warmth of the Caribbean, a chill gripped me in its frigid hold.

A flash of lightening zigzagged the navy sky. One, two, three, four a rumble of thunder shakes in the distance. The ship slices throw the black waters sprinting away

from the tempest.

A deck for observing is no solace as the wind is rocking the boat like a cradle. My insides lurch upward again. I stumble back into his arms, his comfort. He presses

two small pills into my palm. This was his idea, cruising away from it all.

Ahh how beautiful are the remains of the setting sun seen through a calming, narcotic haze.