Sailing as a vehicle for adventure offers many emotions and feelings. There is;
- the determination of a long sail across a body of water or along the coast;
- a day on the water with friends;
- trepidation at the approach of bad weather,
- the thrill of sailing at speed at one with the wind and the water; and
- the exhilaration of reaching a beautiful distant port.
But one of most gratifying feelings from sailing is being alone on the water on a warm night with a favorable breeze in a state of serenity. I wrote this poem whilst sailing back home to Melbourne from Hobart one warm autumn night. I was off Cape Shank http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Schanck,_Victoria on the Coast of Victoria and the weather was perfect.
Waning Moon
Alone
at night
the sky full of the milky way
clear in the darkness
the sea black
the phosphorescence sparkling in the wake of the boat
as she cuts her way through the sea
the light autumn breeze providing her power
silence and darkness
The full moon of Easter has passed
in the last hours of darkness she arises
the waning moon
she sucks the sparkle from the sea
turning it into her own weak ribbon of light
Our moods are joined as one
this my last night at sea
the waning of my adventure
dawn will bring my home port and another voyage finished
but like the waning moon
its a phase
in a little while a new cycle will begin
as with the heavens life is a series of cycles
some more spectacular than others
but cycles of the rhythm of life.