Another watch
this one evening to past three am
so darkness
mostly, distant refineries flare.
Tacoma to Powell River, British Columbia.
I should be good at this.
Twenty-two years of sailing on my license
six years before that to earn it.
What do you think about?
How do you stay awake?
Do you listen to the radio or
books on tape?
No.
I keep an ear on the VHF,
eyes toward the radar.
Half sunk logs, fishing boats.
Container ships on auto.
Night watches are
for dreams and memories
chewed over and tasted again.
Freckled shoulders and sunburn.
Kerosene lamps. Landjaeger.
Regrets
plus old bitter coffee
keep me up all night.
