Vicissitudes

Vicissitudes

Watching the waves wash ashore
The change of fortune sweeps me
Messages I missed roll in with the tide
Leaving lessons lying at my feet
My tears rinse with many emotions
I struggle to sort them out
So I can see my new course
Enabling me to sail out to sea again.

Is it any wonder these vicissitudes
Force me to leave behind so much
As if letting go of the baggage
Weighing my anchor down
Must be cast aside completely
In order to navigate my way
Through unchartered waters
To find a new way to steer my rudder.

Red sky at morning sailor take warning
Never to repeat the same mistake
Red sky at night, sailors delight
As a new dawn arrives tomorrow
Guided by the stars my soul sets
A new plot to hold fast
The truth to take care of first
Myself propelling precious cargo.

How deep is my blue ocean of love
So vast and sincere I take care
Never to strike out on impulse
Setting myself with the wind behind
That whoever she be must see
Sharing the helm is key
Equally taking turns together
As we make our way to forever.

Copyright © 2023 Charles Edward York
No part of this poem may be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way or form or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the author.*