I navigate life as a mariner
sailing unpredictable seas
Respectful yet wary
of what they might bring to me

the sea is my natural element 
alternating tranquility with power
for me there is no better firmament
to anchor each ticking hour

the waves provide each peak and trough
of life’s brief and epic journeys
that for me is always enough
with the pleasure and pain they have earned me 

afloat I bob between the layers of over and undersea
in my boat  my capsule of life I bob most jauntily
when l’m aloft the view ahead is a matter of degree
when down below the view is fine,not seen murkily

time will come I’ll be called down deep by Davy Jones
my time of clear air or storms on water will be done
I’ll find a sandy bed to rest and place my ageing bones 
afar from the binding land, eyes dead to the blinding sun