The Rhyme of the Collegiate
Adrift in the seas of loneliness
scraping my keel on the shoals of friendship,
wanting a safe anchorage in a placid bay
or on the sweet shore of some silken soft strand.
Yet not to be stranded again like
some ancient mariner.
However, this ship has no navigation,
very few points of reference
and an incredible amount of inexperience.
Where now is the dove or the nightingale
to lead me to a safe haven where there is
a kind of peace, tranquility?
Ahead through more shoals and reefs,
there lies a treasure chest &endash; not to be
pirated or plundered, but to be
carefully opened and cherished.
When is not known &endash; possibly just
nigh on up ahead or yea, long away.
If to drift, spreading parts of this
craft among the many coral
tenements of friendships and life,
is to be my joy, my sorrow, even my random fate,
then so be it. Yet I will continue my
search and sail on &endash;&endash;&endash;
even into the dying sunset.
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Copyright © 1998 John B Cooke IV
House o' Poetry
Jack'n'Jim World