Fifty-Two feet of Malay teak
and Ohio Valley steel. A blade
of curvaceous prow, at which
men whistle and women swoon.
Two 300-horsepower John Deere
diesels chug from Seattle
to Hawaii on a single tank of gas.
This is his seven-figure dream.
A brass sextant for his birthday
readies him to measure the seas.
Oh, he knows he can rely on
satellite. Shooting sun, stars
and moon feels more authentic,
more Malay teak and Ohio Valley
steel. He likes reading charts.
Fathoms and rocks and shoals
and bays and rivers and tides
and winds, all authentic
as Malay teak and Ohio Valley
steel. He thinks if he can charter
the boat out, as captain, cook,
toastmaster and maid, he can
make the sinuous lines of Malay
teak and Ohio Valley steel
all his own. He’ll roam
the San Juans, Queen Charlottes,
the Vancouvers, maybe even
Alaska and back. And maybe
the Malay teak and Ohio Valley
steel could be his, despite
the mighty price, even if not
paid off in his ocean-spent lifetime.
And why not? He already has
his sextant, the sun, stars and moon,
his charts, his dreams of Malay teak
and Ohio Valley steel.
