Liber Lunae - Chapter 54

Verses

Verse 21

Silver captain above the mast, pull the sea but not my bones.

Verse 22

The harbor sleeps in ropes and tar; your road begins where ours is dark.

Verse 23

I trust no star that does not move, yet I trust you who never stay.

Verse 24

The tide writes north upon the pilings, then erases its own advice.

Verse 25

A sailor loves what can betray him from a distance.

Verse 26

Tonight the water climbs the quay as if remembering a higher world.

Verse 27

A cat aboard the spice ship knows the safest crate and therefore outranks us all.

Verse 28

When clouds devour your face, we steer by instruments and pretend not to miss you.

Verse 29

Every map is a confession that the world exceeded one man's eyes.

Verse 30

If I drown, do not make a myth of it. Mark the reef.

Verse 31

If I return, do not call it destiny. Mend the sail.

Verse 32

Yet when the black water shines beneath you, even I understand why navigators became priests.

Verse 33

Guide us badly enough that we remain awake.