The Sailor



For My Miscarried Child:

The Sailor has set out today, the one I’ve known a few weeks time.
“I must be on,” the Sailor cried, “my fate belongs to foam and brine.”
An ache of chords resounds your flight, with tears you quiet leave.
No one else remains to hear, no one else remains to grieve.

A limber vessel carried you here cross dunes of time and space,
but in your stead, I’m troubled still, for I’ve yet to see your face.
Though your hands wield no talisman, your eyes behold no guiding star,
I know you’ve sailed to silver shores and wondrous worlds a way afar.

I’ll wait here on these wooden docks for the day you will return,
and smile at the task you’ve made, the one I now discern.
For when my ship is called to port and thus unfurl her weathered sails,
I shall travel on for one more reason now: to see your soul unveiled.

About this poem

In the summer of 2022, my wife and I had a miscarriage. The transcience of a child is much like a sailor who comes to visit, but can never stay for long. They are called away by the sea, and we must remain on the harbor looking out for ships on the horizon.

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Written on January 07, 2022

Submitted by mattmflanders on June 05, 2023

52 sec read
57

Quick analysis:

Scheme X XXAA BBCC DDXX
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 854
Words 176
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4

Matthew Flanders

I am a husband and father living in Baton Rouge, LA working on a doctorate in history. I write poetry in my spare time when either 1) I find inspiration or 2) I'm procrastinating grading papers. more…

All Matthew Flanders poems | Matthew Flanders Books

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    "The Sailor" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 Oct. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/163979/the-sailor>.

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