These Boats...... Poem by RIC BASTASA

you say these boats
are never boats unless they
begin to sail the ocean,
their bellies not scratched
by the waves, their rigs
not tested by the
waves, their fates not
written by the storms
their bodies not
stained by the sun.

i've seen boats, unused
by their dead makers,
boats staying on land,
their white and blue paints
unblemished, their sails
not kissed by the winds,
their stories remained there
never had the time for
sinking, not even once,
but they are still boats,
unscathed by our very own
feelings,


they are still boats,
but we were never once.
never.