As My Paint Peels

By and by, I drift and sink with heavy bilge,
As I gulp, spitting waves that carry me,
But too many sweep me drunk.

As I drift, my wood rots like yours,
My grain gains character, soul,
And leaks through the same seams.

Our hulls made from the same
Wild, ancient, twisted tree,
Nourish the same pests within.

So, though I know you crashed and drowned
Upon the glistening rocks of my shore,
I too, compass that journey,
Scoping and loving and losing myself
In the skies and song that led to your end.


CLR