Wish and Ships

Freeverse

He likes to wait until his lingering end,
sitting on the beach with fish and chips.
Often wonders what life is about.
Why is that boat there, that ship farther out, and yet another?

Will they still be there when he is not?
Will he still be here when they are gone?
How many chips and how much fish
will still be in this greaseproof paper?

Enough salt and vinegar here?
Or should he go for more?
Waiting for a lingering end
can be quite perplexing, even strange.

(4 Sep 2023)

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

An existential piece here. The subject, who is probably an older man, seems to be concerned about his death, which may not be too distant. He sits on the beach observing the offshore ships and wonders if they will still be there when he has passed. He even wonders about his supply of fish and chips, and whether it will last him until the end. One wonders if he speculated about these things earlier in life, or whether the passage of time has made death more real to him. I suspect the latter is the case.

[Andrew John]

Thank you for a lengthy comment, J the B. Sometimes people see things one meant them to see, but occasionally see something that isn't there. That's poetry: there could be stuff in it that the writer didn't mean but the reader sees. Yep, that's poetry, and that's something I like about it.

[Arundass TP]

I am attracted to the second four lines of the poem. Totally expressive way of writing

[Andrew John]

Many thanks for this, ATP.