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She Brought
Us Light …
by
Elizabeth Vassallo
I.
…
And the sun crashed down
On our deep blue carpet
As we plowed along
Through the unevenly knitted threads.
And we cried, and we hugged as
Deep below our feet, the gimbaled
Tables rocked and reached for the floor.
And the man in the engine room
Held his breath and wished for the hum
Of the engine running.
And the sailor man with the disfigured toes,
Worn from his bare-footed sea-faring days,
Sat on the Elephant Table and prayed to the Wave God,
"Bring me sweet waves, Oh bring them …
Throw my ship far out to sea …
So I never feel land again."
And, we, on the bow sprit, wrestled
With a sail, murderous with a mouth full
Of wind - And we prayed for our harnesses
To hold us fast and wished for the wood of
The deck below us …
Oh, but the sun crashed down
Through the waves filled with fury.
And we whispered to her
To come back and light our world,
So we could see the waves burst on our hull -
So we could see the fury
and the power that we felt.
… In the Morning
II.
… And
in the morning she came to me
And bade me come above,
And sit upon the railing and
Watch her pretty light,
Before the crew was shouting and
Tugging on the lines.
And I had her all to myself.
She danced across the water
And played with the helmsman's eyes.
She warmed my freckled back
And bleached my grease-streaked hair.
She called to me to come and join her -
To jump into the sea
And swim the thousand miles
To her glowing, radiant face …
So she could kiss me
With her scorching lips …
So she could embrace me in her arms of fire.
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