2014 Class Graduates Ode To The Sailors

One of the great benefits of being a poet to one's inner core is that when you stumble into an event the muse grabs you almost in a second. After celebrating National Ceviche Day at a great Mexican restaurant Costa Brava in Costa Mesa by ordering a great serving of ceviche, I returned to my complex only to wander into a party celebrating the graduation of 4 seniors from Newport Harbor High School, home of the Sailors. This poem came to me almost immediately and although lacking the relevance to the comments often made about the chaos in Washington, I would like to share it. The youth are our future and after seeing four of our youth at a function in Costa Mesa, this poet is firmly convinced we are in good hands. Kudos to the Class of 2014!

Ode To Sailors On The Ocean Of Life

True Sailors never forget their clove hitch and bowline knots

Never shy from the freedom of the ocean sought

Always ready to leave the safety and security of a port

To on the ocean of dreams set forth on their course never to be cut short

To be land locked is to one’s dreams curtail

Sailors with any wind will always prevail

To be becalmed in dreams is to wither and watch your dreams rot

Tied down to failure in an unbreakable Becket knot

But if after 4 years of learning as a Sailor one is ready to set sail

The world may not be your oyster but is waiting for your tales

You need only a compass of what is true and what is right

And maybe an appreciation of a God who gives us the Northern Lights

To the future the Sailors of the class of 2014, ignore the rising or uncertain surf

You have passed all tests, you are ready to claim you rightful turf

© June 28, 2014 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com