Sestina: The Ship Of Life In The Stormy Sea Poem by Dr John Celes

The ship of life seems always in the sea,
In times both calm and rough;
Sometimes it docks, afar from shore;
But not for long, for it must be on course;
We are its captain and the crew as well,
Beset by storms like bolt from blue that strike.

We steer the ship rudderless when storms strike;
Perilous seems the monstrous sea!
Fierce winds like gales unleash and all's not well;
We pray to God to tame the sea that's rough;
With food and fuel scarce, we still keep course
Until we reach the safety of the shore.

But not for long for we must leave the shore
Unmindful of the storms that once more strike,
And keep the ship on its intended course
And journey to some unknown land by sea,
Expecting halcyon days or weather rough
But keeping body, mind and soul quite well.

'Tis not so easy staying almost well
Especially when we are afar from shore,
In weather that can turn suddenly rough
With wind-speeds high, and torrents that could strike;
With hymns to God and pleas to chide the sea
We pray the ship will stay upon its course.

We thank God when the ship is back on course
And sun is shining and all seems quite well -
Upon becalmed and friendly sea,
Longing for another land and shore,
And thanking God for weather's smiles that strike
A note of calm upon a heart hit rough.

We sing and dance with joy when sea's not rough,
And ship is sailing smoothly on its course,
And devils don't unexpectedly strike
And heart is happy, everything is well,
And we begin to see the final shore,
And end our adventure upon the sea.

No longer rough will be again the sea
In cruising course, and nigh the shore,
As Nature's furies cannot strike for all is well.

Copyright by Dr John Celes 13-01-2017