The Captain I Was Poem by Seamus O' Brian
The Captain I Was
As he once more guided the frame of his bed
into the darker currents of evening's drift,
he thoughtfully plucked his favorite stars
from the obsidian slate of the night
and rolled them carefully into the velvet
of his dreams. In the intervals between
each discreetly precise thrum-tock of
the wizened old clock governing the hall,
he forages quietly through
the half-opened drawers and wandering piles
of dog-eared gazettes, the surfeited
gleanings of a 12 year old's mind.
Here's a chart of the delta of Okavango,
a well-worn map of the Straits of Malacca,
a treatise on snaring turtles at sea,
and, finally, there…well, his craft is adrift
in the gentle lapping of the rhythm of sleep.
He has the North Star in his pocket
and a mapcase in his mind,
and his prow is aimed for those horizons
where his heart already sails.
Seamus, I think this poem of yours is in many ways as magical as Baudelaire's and reminds me also of Chapman's Homer. You have encaptured the mind of an imaginative child. Can I ask you one thing. Have you read Perse's Anabasis? Sadly I can't submit translations of parts of it as T.S. Eliot 's version is unbeatable! I think you would enjoy it, especially the tone of child-like wonder, juxtaposed to sudden images of savagery as the warrior prince proceeds on his explorations and conquests. I shall put your poem in my favourites.
I'm gonna try it tonight. All set for an adventure! I like your inclusion of the Okavango delta. Your son was there, right? Lovely imaginative poem.
You have blessed us with your wonderful imagination, a lovely tale indeed. It's great to be able to access your page again to enjoy your offerings, Annette ;)
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/27/2024 5:36:24 PM # 1.0.0.1119
I love the images you weave, the dreams you set, the dog-eared gazettes. Wonderfully inspired.