Artwork Sourced from Pinterest. Artist: David Grove.
The Mariner
by Antonio Rocco S. (Rocco Valentini)
In today’s sea of discourse it’s easy to get seasick It feels like you’re a carpenter in a ship’s hull With a hole expanding under pressure so quick It threatens to drown the contents of your skull. You’re a seafaring Sisyphus, a maritime martyr, Bailing out the whirlpool of Poseidon’s throne, Struggling to keep your tricorn from becoming a marker For an underwater tombstone. The currents carry you toward your final release Your body to be marooned in the coral reef. You have a single shot in your musket, But rather than turning it on yourself, Take aim at the pallbearer’s mitts And free yourself from his nautical cartel. Don’t seal your will in a bottle and cast it ashore Make your final stand against the tide. Drop your anchor to the ocean floor And let Davy Jones decide. To your greatest fears you must never succumb You needn’t outrun the fates you need only run out the rum.