Navigator Poet Poem by Joseph S. Josephides

The poet Camões is sailing with us
his dream being to follow Ulysses.
He saw the masts as arrows to the stars,
was writing lyrics to protect us from wild beasts
to tolerate any strange, to love our close people.
He wrote: 'keep away from the scent of Circe,
or your dog misjudges you as being a stranger’.

But we owed much to pay for our mistakes,
as much as Charlotte due to her thousand lovers*.
We brought gold in: ‘build a church’ he ordered
and we laid him in a tomb that was like a vessel
to travel and bring knowledge of previous times.

The poet, reaching the Castle of Cyclops Salazar,
throws him dead down from his chair in his bath,
supports widows of Nazare to pay room rentals;
here is Ines de Castro, the lover of Prince
buried alive by the people, what a sin; unearths her
call them to kiss her, then reburies her with honours,
similar to that for Elpinor and Polynices.

Navigator poet, as you go to the Upper Ocean
where memories do not go beyond their dreams,
do teach us how to march for what is worthy,
raising the masts as rods of worthiness.



© JosephJosephides