A First True Love

Oh lady of high, and bulbous prow
Sleek flanks of sturdy steel
I knew intimate details of you
From masthead to your keel
I worked your decks in blazing sun
Felt you buck beneath me in the storm
You kept me warm and safe inside of you
Protecting me from all harm

I gleefully watched the dolphins run
Dancing and skipping about your skirt
And humbly observed the proud Albatross
Which teased but never deigned to flirt?
I proudly mounted your gang-plank
In each and every foreign land
And shared with you the secrets of my adventures
You were the first to understand

So, are you still sailing strong and brave
Or suffering the same fate as I
Taken away from ocean wave
To wither and slowly, painfully, die
But the memory of you keeps me smiling
As the memory of a first true love should
You were a first true love to me
And you conceived, my love for the sea.


Copywrite S R Dixon 1981.