Ghost Ships I Have Seen Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

ghost ships I have seen
in my own time
not in my time

the sequinned rigging of the stars
and cast away farther than the mind
can go.

ghost ships, in the snows of
Christmas departing
where we no longer wait

for the Rose of all roses
unfolding.
so we have gathered to the heart

the bridal finery that disappears
in contravening years
and stood at the docks until

there was no more light to see by.
there was no more sea.

mary angela douglas 17 december 2016