Wood and Steel - by Brian Narelle
Wood and Steel
first day at sea The steel deck hums
Rolling ocean bringing back dreams Of wooden ships and creaking ropes
Wood once home to squirrel and bird
Roots knowing darkness and moisture
This steel ship knows no life But for the guest in my cabin
A ladybug has stowed away with me
I place her in the steel drawer Of the steel desk On the steel ship
I bring her water And bits of food This ambassador of all living things Trapped in a cold steel world
That bug, a living icon Impossibly red with magic black spots I fell in love with her And all creation at the same time
But she did not survive
Heartbroken in mid-Atlantic A burial at sea Inside a matchbox coffin
The only wood I could find
- Brian Narelle