The Voyage, By Max Burchett Poem by Max Burchett

Set sail on an ocean,
An unknown sea,
At times adrift, unknown destination,
No compass or charts to see.

No return to original harbor
I must sail on,
Perilous to halt, cannot anchor
In this ship not chosen.

Yet I am captain,
And crew, and then
First mate,
Navigator and helmsman.

Still there are lighthouse beacons
On which I depend and rely,
And fleets I seek to join
To find my way on.

To avoid sinking in my cosmic trip
Or being forever lost at sea,
Becoming a ghost ship,
Afloat, but adrift, only me.

To sail the world as a luxury cruise
Or a warship from one battle to the next,
Decided at time of launch in Destiny's plan
For what storms and ships will be seen on this voyage of man.

This fateful voyage
Is, of course, my life.
The charted course of this passage,
I, the captain, will sail through storms or strife.