We have stayed too long.
Betrayal sent us to this cove
and grief has kept us here,
growing fat and dull
in indolence and self-pity.
Why tarry longer?
Our boat is repaired.
The day is clear.
Salt is in the air,
wind on our faces.
Remember how the water roared,
the sea sprayed and our boat surged
before the towering swell.
Dolphins frolicked in our wake.
Great whales rose to breach by our side.
We laughed at storm.
We slept beneath diamond brilliance.
Now throw in your sacks.
Take up your sword and shield.
Climb in.
I hold our vessel still.
Have courage.
Adversity brings strength
to body and mind.
Fear not failure.
Fear only stagnation,
that dullness that first seeps
then sucks all spirit away.
Do we not have choice?
Are we not masters of our fate?
We will not look backwards.
We have no time for revenge.
We leave behind the pettiness
that stranded us here.
Our way is to the unknown west.
We will see things yet unseen.
We seek whatever lies
beyond the setting sun.
If we fall, we fall in striving.
Now dip your oars and row.
Our first challenge is before us.
The current is swift,
the channel narrow,
the waves curl and crash on the cliff.
Out yonder lies the open sea.
Now row. Pull hard, my friends.
Bend your backs.
Row. Row.
-For my indomitable sister, Jean,
who was ready to launch long before me-
First published in Verse-Virtual, June 19
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