~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Missing the Boat

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is not so much that the boat passed
and you failed to notice it.
It is more like the boat stopping
directly outside your bedroom window,
the captain blowing the signal-horn,
the band playing a rousing march.The boat shouted, waving bright flags,
its silver hull blinding in the sunlight.

But you had this idea you were going by train.You kept checking the time-table,
digging for tracks.And the boat got tired of you,
so tired it pulled up the anchor
and raised the ramp.The boat bobbed into the distance,
shrinking like a toy--
at which point you probably realized
you had always loved the sea.

Naomi Shihab Nye Different Ways to Pray

Breitenbush Publications, 1980