His Windless Sails
He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf stream
and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.
--Ernest Hemingway
He is an old man
With windless sails
Who thinks he can
Blow enough hot air
To convince his
Bamboozled crew
That his ship is moving.
But he's been stuck
In the harbor of old
Memories and dull
Verse for many years,
Refusing to admit
That he has not
Moved an inch.
And his tired crew
Is now willing to
Jump ship and leave
The old fool to his
Own devices,
Knowing damn well
That there is no
Promised land
And that the old
Man lied about
Deliverance, purpose
Or direction,
And the old man's
Treasure chest is
Filled with fool's gold
And photographs
Of big fish that
He never caught,
While he sleeps
Each day in his
Rocking chair,
Dreaming of
Sultry sea whores
And desperados.
November 29, 2006
Copyright © 2006 by Alexander Shaumyan