LOVE SHARED
Boats have a soul, don’t you think?
They are loyal even in their (and our) later years,
As our sun starts to sink.
They make demands on our time that do not respect
The commitments our significant others expect.
They give rise to disputes,
Sometimes quite serious.
And their reluctance to share us
Can have consequences deleterious.
Decisions may eventually have to be made.
It can happen that the divorce card ends up being played.
It’s me or the boat – so the ultimatum goes!
Moored out there on the rippled dark water
Sliding this way and that on the tide she sits.
Potential squandered, lonely, calling.
There come nights away,
Watery play,
Absences at home,
A social debt to pay.
Trouble, dispute, aggravation on land,
Or peace afloat? The time to choose is at hand.
Horizons to chase, dreams to follow,
Life as a singlehander starts tomorrow!
People can often be loyal too,
Especially when they are far from new.
The young are more likely casually to break
Previous promises they were too quick to make.
Old love burns bright
Though its vessel be closer to that long good night.
Such is the world
And many like it that way.
But events, dear boy,
Ensure change tomorrow, if not today.
Sailors in need of an alternative option
Who install silent self-steering in the transom position
Gain more time to spend on the rest of their mission
Be that reading, relaxing, navigating or fishing!
Peter Foerthmann
