Homage Poem by Charles West

Trembling. Trembling boat.
With wheezing chatter -
Clitter clatter, clitter clatter -
Round and round, the spinning shaft
Drives on and on.
Turning. Churning.

And now, now....silence.
A mist of yellow ochre sits, heavy
As a damp cloak upon the sea.
No sun. No sky. No breath.
The olive water heaves and sighs
What now is past.
Fifty-nine souls seeking a Promised Land.

Touch the water that took them.
Rest the floating wreath.