The Lifeboat

          The Lifeboat

When the dull thud of the maroon
burst above the town,
every pulse quickened
and every sense was magnified,
as the implosion displaced the core of being.
And every ear, suspended,
waited in trepidation
for a sound – unfailing.
A second dull thud above the town.

A special sound.
Our sound.
Not heard in towns inland,
nor in the country.
But our unique cry for help.

An essence of being,
where men unknown and unseen
abandoning normal things
veered out into the abyss.
Their testament?
An omni-presence.

A gravitation that drew me:
fearless, fighting and in pursuit
out against the wind,
along the narrow abandoned streets
and down on to the harbour, where,
ignoring things secure
and battling right out to its mouth
and clambering to the sea wall,
I raised My prow! to the wind.
To elements raw and unrestrained
that in an instant
chilled to the marrow of my bone,
subdued my will, and forced Me!
back on to the harbour.

And there it was
where it had always been,
silent, and stable on its stilts.
And as I marvelled at that moment,
frozen in time – the doors
flung wide! above the slipway.
I knew what courage was,
and that I
lived in a great place.

_____
© Cormac McCloskey
Revised 22nd April 2008

Note: This blog, "The Lifeboat", was first published on Windows Live Spaces, by me, on 11th October 2005