Anchored

Acrylic on canvas

I set sail
    once.
When the dawn was still gray
    and full of promise
    of dreams and adventure.
With a crew of wild hearts
    who never looked back,
    who breathed fire into my bones.

We had a map and a course
    and dance and a song
    and a family picture on the wall back home
    in a country where we all belonged.
And a flag and a story
    and a dog named Elvis
    and even sponsored tshirts
    to prove we were a team and got along.

All our designs held together
    in seamless accord, one voice, one thread.
But Love anchored us instead.

Then sometime during the night
    it started to rain.
The sky clouded over
    and the stars disappeared
    for a while.
The map got wet,
    the course was uncertain,
    and what did flags and countries mean anyway
    in the middle of the ocean
    with no land in sight?
Noone felt like singing
or telling stories
in the cold.
Our designs seemed confused
    and our tunes
out of tune.

But we went to sleep in wait of the dawn
    with no fears or anxious thoughts unsaid.
Because Love anchored us instead.