Redemption at Sea
by
Joseph Patrick Rogers
A gust of wind filled the mainsail and jib,
Prompting him to look ahead,
Eager anticipation having replaced the despair of his departure;
Forty days alone at sea had changed much,
For now he realized that he was never truly alone.
He had intended to escape from one reality,
Only to find a new reality that he had not foreseen.
Wanting to reach his destination sooner,
He raised the spinnaker sail, giving more power to the small vessel;
Three sails: red, gold, and blue propelled him toward sanctuary.
A glimmering on the horizon prompted him to turn the wheel,
Aiming the boat like an arrow toward the wonders before him.
Burnt by the sun, wracked by fever, tossed by storms,
He had survived it all;
Or, rather, his old self had died, and he had been born anew,
Baptized into the Spirit by the waves that washed over him.
All the vanities of modern life washed away by the elementals,
No wonder would now have surprised him:
Mermaids, sea serpents, Neptune emerging to challenge his upstart vessel.
All the glories that could be will be, he now knew
As he sailed toward the glowing Kingdom that rose from the ocean before him.
