The Sea Is My Sister

The sea is my sister
Perth saint is my brother
Brothers are uncles
Uncles and nuncles
Philip, James, Frank, and Joe
Joseph sailor did go
The sisters Kulchicovsky
One, two, three, me
The house is my home
Car and trees are the key
To life in the suburbs
Bored malls alien me
Sea far away green-and-gray sea foaming sea
All sorrows get drowned in my dry cup of tea
Aunts, yes, three Marys and crosses a’plenty
(Believe that there will be some justification for all the horror of life i)
Childhood gone, swept away by the waves
Bended knees and mourning, I’ll return to the sea
Gray-green north Atlantic refreshes the soul
Breezes and salt brines the chill cerulean air
Newport, Cuttyhunk, Stonington blue,
Nanny Goat Tucket
We sailed there too
Regatta and buckets of riches it takes
The best part of the race
Not the sails and such (says Captain Sandy)
But the party and rum and the sparkling sapphire
Churning foam from the sea
And the brew in cold bottles
Watch the waves roll
And up picnic boat throttle
No matter how large your boat, ship, or craft
(No matter the size of your yacht, there’s always one bigger)
The sea is vaster than any of that
Up high on the deck
The wind whistles and howls
Cover my face with soft blini as towel
Bring forth spade, shovel, and trowel
No traveler returns
Each in turn returns to ashes and dust
Like the waves of the sea
Long before and long after
Little old me . . . And you, too, my friend
To each it will end

i
Kerouac, Jack. Good Blondes & Others. “Lamb, No Lion.” (San Francisco: Grey Fox Press, 1993). p. 52.