Longboats

Longboats

I struggle as our souls pleat,
in this endless summer haze;
I bristle 'neath your heartbeat,
I wither in your gaze

Attention I don't oft see,
in games so rarely played;
a feat, which I'm not worthy,
frozen, bound in feats of clay

Hating just how pliant,
how dependent I've become;
In the shadow of a giant,
in the soft glare of her sun

A ball of light, that's smaller,
yet seems to burn so bright;
'neath barren moons I call her,
longing for her light

In darkness, our defendants,
line up long, to take an oath;
a loss of independence,
'midst a guilty burst of growth

A shock to stringent systems,
to such cultures of the heart;
as valves and burnt-out pistons,
sporadically, they start

Twisting, turning, pumping,
as a fire climbs the gauge;
listing, burning, thumping,
out to sea, as flames they rage

Washed off course and out reach,
from where we used to be;
afraid to speak, to note the breach,
alone we burn at sea

Somehow, someone struck a match,
staid embers flare, we burn;
fires mutually detached,
we drift as pages turn

Letters, words and sentence, spun,
stray paragraphs are lit;
as tomes burn in repentance, won,
... in chapters lost, we sit

Sitting still as bridges blaze,
half formed across the sea;
burning with the doubts they raise,
connections we don't see

Lost inside, mariners' rimes,
an ancient ocean wends;
silent unlogged flames, they climb,
we face a viking's end

Some journeys aren't completed, closed,
some shores are never reached;
some tides roll undefeated, coved,
spent ashes line the beach

of sails torn from fire born,
and masts we couldn't climb;
a perfect storm, a brand new dawn,
with oars now kept in line

Struggling as souls burn, lost,
mute echoes call your name;
Bristling, such heartbeats cost
... I wither in your flame