In literature I am studying poems and stories throughout British History. Obviously it had me start at the beginning so the first poems/stories I read were Beowulf, and The Seafarer from the Anglo-Saxon age (5th-11th century). They contain biblical themes and deeper meanings through relatable terms such as sailing the seas and defeating evil monsters. After reading these poems, I was challenged to write a poem using a sea theme, like The Seafarer, about life. So here is what I came up with.
Ships
All of these ships
in the harbor are brought.
Most finish
construction, but some finish not.
Some have design
flaws that won’t let them float,
Others are broken by
irresponsible blokes.
The ones who set
sail aren’t all as strong as they look,
Some take on
water, some sails don holes from a pirate’s hook.
They try to repair
with the things that they’ve got,
But the supplies
on deck aren’t the cream of the crop.
They fix leaks
with barrel wood; they patch sails with old shirts,
But they keep coming
back and they keep getting worse.
They know of a
repairman, they know of his great works,
But they are too
afraid to admit their way just doesn’t work.
Just a call to the
repairman, and a trip to the port,
And your ship
could be better he’d be happy to report.
You would still
get those leaks, and be prepared for holes,
But he won’t cease
to fix it, if you just give him your whole.
If you stay loyal,
and entrust your ship to him,
He will not fail
you, as he’s never failed them.
And someday you’ll
find that he’s quite the sailor,
You’ll join his
crew, and sail in new seas forever.
