Let me say this upfront: I\u2019m from the Northeast of the US
\nand everything about Miami in December
\nfeels wrong.
\nPalm trees and halter tops
\n\t(do people still wear these?)
\njust shouldn\u2019t be a winter thing.<\/p>\n
Working this boat
\nwith Captain Contemptible
\ndoes not arouse holiday cheer.
\nStill faithfully
\n3 sails a day
\nand a sunset cruise
\n (no different from the other sails
\n but with the mystique of changing light
\n the name changes, so too the price)
\nwe put on our best keep-our-jobs
\nhappy faces
\nfor the tourists.<\/p>\n
The crew live on land
\nexcept for me \u2013
\nI bunk on another boat
\non Key Biscayne \u2013
\nSo there\u2019s none of the camaraderie
\nof shared living and working:
\nWe do not share our lives;
\nwe do not share so much as a meal.
\nWhen the work is done
\nwe scatter \u2013<\/p>\n
My birthday in early December passes
\n(mercifully)
\nwithout notice, without mention
\nMiami is awash in Christmas
\nAnd in its ostentatious way
\nthe city erects displays
\nblasts music \u2028
\nstrings lights.<\/p>\n
I grew up with Chanukkah I think of this as I step out And then, I see it I know these lights have been set before me Let me say this upfront: I\u2019m from the Northeast of the US and everything about Miami in December feels wrong. Palm trees and halter tops (do people still wear these?) just shouldn\u2019t be a winter thing. Working this boat with Captain Contemptible does not arouse…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3072,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marathon-poem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3072"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95747"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95801,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95747\/revisions\/95801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nnow not so much a celebration
\nnot a necessary affiliation
\nbut something deeper
\na link to ancestors
\nsomething that holds me \u2013
\nThe light<\/em> of Chanukkah
\nit is this that speaks to me
\nThe light that grows over eight days
\nfrom a single light
\ninto a blaze.<\/p>\n
\nonto halyards
\nas I trim sails
\nas I answer tourists\u2019 questions.<\/p>\n
\none night on a sunset cruise:
\nthere, facing the water
\na huge ridiculous menorah \u2013
\nthe shamash and first two nights\u2019 lights burning (electrically) bright
\nEach night after that I look for it
\nas its kitchy-flame grows
\nEach night I imagine I have set it alight
\nand when the menorah comes into view
\nI murmur the prayers
\nwhich for some odd reason
\nI have not forgotten<\/p>\n
\nin blessing
\nThat there is no one to thank;
\nno one to join me in prayer
\ndoes not matter.
\nFor centuries these prayers
\nhave been uttered
\nand they continue still.
\nFor six successive nights
\non this watery bucket
\nI continue my joyful prayer.
\nSilent to my crew,
\nit is my secret
\nwith eternity.
\nPrayer, this night here
\nand the world over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"