Glad again for twin engines’ hedging bet
Limping home across familiar bay on only one
Gay plans dashed but all hands dry and safe
Time slows to a chugging crawl and starts to chafe
Pitching to and fro in newly noticed waves
Queasy passengers force smiles and ask how long
The captain rues remarks that passing sailors make
His gaze envying their smooth and silent wake
The crew’s on deck keeping a lookout tense
Alert for giants ghosting through the cloaking haze
Across the ship channel at Bloody Point with a shiver
Slow, but not in tow, making straight for the South River
Mid-bay seagulls bob and crossly screech
Herald freshening wind and day’s fast fading light
Graybeard bay, rolling heavy now and dull,
Becomes big water, vast and menacing beneath our hull
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Copyright Deborah McGlauflin, November 2010. All rights reserved.
