By Joseph Hesch
They told me if I was going
To make it from this island,
I would have to venture
offshore as they did,
into the sea
where artists must become mariners.
It's deep and vast and foggy
out here,
and you can't tell if the other
wayfarers are pleasure craft or pirates.
A dinghy could come off as a racing sloop,
a canoe as an aircraft carrier.
a corsair's galleon seem a bass boat.
We could pass each other,
in the misty mythic day or night,
not knowing the other was there
or maybe not even caring,
though we should, sharing
these winds and seas as we are,
a community of solitary sailers.
If I dropped away, just sank
beneath this sea of zeros and ones,
leaving behind naught but
a slick of tweets, a wake of follows,
would any of the other vessels
In this fleeting fleet even know?
Would they even care?
It's becoming quite scary
to brave the swells and storms
alone,
crewless and without a chart
to guide me to a place
I don't even know I'll reach.
Why'd I think I could leave
my beach?
Love this. We're both writing about social networking, but I'm being extremely obvious, while you're using a wonderful metaphor. I love the sea. But it can drown you, can't it?
ReplyDeleteWonderful wonderful write.
love the line about the "sea of zeros and ones..." and I agree with Heather--this is a wonderful metaphor; you follow it through beautifully.
ReplyDeleteseas. sea. reach. leave. beach.
ReplyDeleterich in your e.
nearly as rich in your a.
the seas are full of adventure, but dont let them tell you that sea monsters dont exist...sail at your own risk...smiles. nice verse....
ReplyDeleteWell you've certainly captured the underlying terror of the modern world...social networking grows, the internet grows, and it's true, we're connecting with more people all over the world, faster and faster, but are they meaningful connections? It's not faces watching us. It's lines of code staring back at us - a push of a button could delete it all, and likewise, we may be lost in the sea of other data. One can certainly feel adrift...
ReplyDeleteWonderful write!
Really liked this poem, especially this part:
ReplyDelete'would any of the other vessels
In this fleeting fleet even know?'
Wonderful.
the anonymity of life - the not seeing - not knowing - wonderful metaphor here, i enjoyed every word joe!
ReplyDeleteAre you talking to me? lol brilliant poem about putting yourself out there..'It's becoming quite scary
ReplyDeleteto brave the swells and storms
alone,'...scary indeed. Love your writing Joe.