naked beneath a crowded sky
all exposed undignified
raw for all to see
gaping hull and rotting timbers
all pride now passed behind
the crowd gathers
the critics rush
to see and say
most cutting and crass
to feign to mourn
and clasp their hands
and sentence her to death
dishonor

naked and rudderless
powerless and weighed
for cost of scrap
ingloriously vulnerable
disrespectable
mythology and mockery
of amateurs who fail to see
the inner strength of her design
storms well weathered
cries of crews unheard
over shrieks of wind
their eyes see only damage
each weakness and flaw examined
promise of further miles
feed public debate
haul her in and scrap her worthless shell
ugly and spent and no longer worth the effort

suspect ship sits on trial
corroded rust and wormy wood
fibers frayed canvas thin
tell stories of heat and ice and sun
rain and long and thirsty days
and longer drenching nights
of stars like hopes in reach like breath
of maps like dreams untested untrusted
for the sake of a cause remote but glorious
all work all hope all effort was made
and yet glory fails in the measure of the journey
it is the steadfast plodding years that tell
the story of faithful persistence
the true design and lines that drew a wake
that built a kingdom for the poor in spirit

here come the carpenters
new controls with taut fresh lines
new sails that lust for breeze
now a crew well fed
and fresh from fights
the crease of lovers sheets cut cross
their scars carved out by maiden seas
as arguments and debts months old
tongues once held now slick with rum
hurl sticks and stones as muscles flex
and fists
the fight is never ended
no champion ever named
as ghosts they move back up the plank

and so as hull meets wave once more
new masters preach their dogma
and old commands are shouted out
as anchors slip their chains
design the master of them all
for she was made to move
well and strong before the wind
happily she sails again
ambivalent
to compass
or cargo
to be as she is
as she was
made to move
to carry the weight
of the world