Angel wing arching above the dune line
the mast of a 44-foot sailboat,
a beacon to all of a sailor in trouble.
The Graveyard of the Atlantic
poised to claim another victim
having just destroyed a fishing rig
in Hatteras days before
three men saved by the Coast Guard,
spared from an eternal resting place at sea.
Rudder ruined
vessel adrift
glancing the shallow shoals of Corolla, North Carolina,
bitter nor’easter winds of December howled
waves of white caps
ravaged the hull
the vessel tossed, pushed and taking on water.
The captain alone save for his first mate,
a four-year-old albino cat.
Morning brought endless skies of red and orange
laughing gulls abounded
dolphins breached occasionally, seeking warmer waters
ocean calmer, forgiving.
The Siesta, broken, partially submerged
high tide racing in
yet the 95-year-old mariner from Florida
salty, stalwart, indefatigable soul,
refused to abandon his ship.
A Good Samaritan,
one of the first rescuers asked,
Water, coffee, a blanket, anything?
Just a bourbon, the captain said,
Now let’s find that darned cat.
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Renee Williams is a retired English professor, who has written for Guitar Digest, Alien Buddha Press and the New Verse News.
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