The Friend Ship

Sailing in a friend ship

This craft has brought us far

Through waters ever-changeable

We steered it by the stars

The sails have been mended

It leaks from time to time

The wind is unpredictable

And with that, we are fine

This friend ship is a galleon

With many decks and rooms

An ocean’s worth of stories

Mementoes and heirlooms

They gleam beneath our timbers

But we’re mostly looking out

For next years new adventures

Or this day’s humpback spout

Our vessel sails impeccably

With a crew of two

Visitors are welcome

But sometimes spoil the view

Those many-handed clippers

Can end up in affray

And solo navigators

Often lose their way

Throughout this long adventure

we’ve taken a few knocks

Shipped a ton of water

And almost hit the rocks

But strengthened by the learnings

Of many a year

We ride out every tempest

Until the sky is clear

Long ago when time was still

We met upon a beach

Both lost and unaccompanied

Apart from seagull screech

From balsa wood and camel skins

We built a quirky craft

And pushed it to the ocean

Unknowing as we laughed

That this would be a voyage

To span many decades

Upon a ship too precious

To sink beneath the waves

Slowly and intriguingly

The craft began to grow

Extensions, decorations

Above and down below

Nothing mattered in that time

Upon our youthful boat

From mangroves to ice flows

Content we were to float

Sharing our perspectives

On relation ships of old

Meeting other travellers

In waters warm and cold

We journeyed in flotillas

And crossed to different boats

Some in which we struggled

To move or stay afloat

Some were swift and carefree

Others safe and dull

Magnificent frigates

And overloaded holds

Now our craft is older

It’s weathered but unbowed

Wearing a patina

From the oceans that we’ve ploughed

Tales of adventure

And intrigue are retold

Pirates, monsters, paradises

Maps for foolish gold

For this life is an ocean

A boundless dreaming zone

Not a route that’s linear

With destinations known

We interact with currents

And chart a hopeful course

Never fully knowing

The ocean’s mystic laws

© Tom George