harbor

when the ship left port it sounded its horn

a weak and dying thing

engines chugging spewing smoke

fish swirling in the white wake.

it didn't seem to mind

it was seabound

no,

not this machine.

the sailors already drunk on the deck

port wine and rum

they didn't know where they were going

and well,

they didn't much mind either.

there were no watchers seeing it off

no mothers or wives

no cannon fire, no confetti

a child looked from the patio of a bistro

saw the ship idly crest the horizon

and looked back down at the

shrimp scampi smeared on his

ralph lauren top

and said he wasn't hungry anymore,

this isn't what he wanted anyway,

and

asked for dessert.

when the ship returned

it sat in the harbor

and didn't move for a long time.