open ocean

when the ship had six members,
the captain asked the ship:
“do you ever get bored?”

the ship replied,
“yes, i do.”
“the ocean is vast and empty.”
“it’s easy to get bored.”
“but i know in the end, i will not be bored.”

when the ship had five members,
the captain asked the ship:
“do you ever feel sad?”

the ship replied,
“yes, i do.”
“bad things happen all the time.”
“it’s easy to be sad.”
“but i know in the end, i can be happy.”

when the ship had four members,
the captain asked the ship:
“do you ever feel grief?”

the ship replied,
“yes, i do.”
“sometimes we lose people.”
“it’s easy to feel grief.”
“but i know in the end, they want me to move on.”

when the ship had three members,
the captain asked the ship:
“do you ever feel hopeless?”

the ship replied,
“yes, i do.”
“it can seem like there’s no end to the pain.”
“it’s easy to lose hope.”
“but i know in the end, i need to believe in myself.”

when the ship had two members,
the captain asked the ship:
“do you ever have regrets?”

the ship replied,
“yes, i do.”
“i regret the paths i didn’t take.”
“it’s easy to have regrets.”
“but i know in the end, i can be happy with what i have.”

when the ship had one member,
the captain asked the ship:
“do you ever feel scared?”

the ship replied,
“yes, i do.”
“the future ahead of us is unknown.”
“it’s easy to feel scared.”
“but i know i can overcome it.”

when the ship had no one left,
there was no one to ask it a question.
and it sat alone in the ocean

feeling bored,
feeling sad,
feeling grief,
feeling hopeless,
feeling regret,
and feeling scared.