Fox Island, Ontario

Haiku

Lifelines always full
of towels and suits and tees
a floating laundry

Cover photo and poem from The Essential Rudder: North Channel Poems (Finishing Line Press, 2008). Available from the press or from Amazon.com

The Elegant Siamese

Sailing Companion

Early on, this elegant Siamese
explored our decks at steep angles,
daring the waves to carry him off.
Burrowed in cockpit cuddies when seas were rough,
wandered out to sample the fare on other boats,
leaped on breakwaters as if they were his palace wall,
even swam to shore to chase a snake into poison ivy.

Now so old we call him Methuselah
he often gives hard stares
from the safe curve of a full sail
or the navy cushions below
where he waits for stable docks
beyond these slippery surfaces.

From "Snapshots," The Essential Rudder: North Channel Poems (Finishing Line Press, 2008)

North Channel Poem with photo

Still Life

The shadow of a bottle
and four wine glasses
on the cockpit wall
casts a spell.

The noisy process
of cooking the evening meal
stops while the crew comes on deck
to see this artwork grow and wane
as the boat drifts and the sun
moves down its path toward night.

Poem from "Snapshots," The Essential Rudder: North Channel Poems (Finishing Line Press, 2008)