Rescue at Sea

I’ve been studying Homer.

Winslow that is.

To see what he saw in the sea.

The wave cresting out there is his

and part of the sky

and the life preserver came from Jane

as did the very old teacup I believe

and the bottle was a gift many years ago

I had to dump the last inch of homemade kahlua out

to get the note in.

The message is all Pat’s.

After seeing this painting for the first time
Poet Laureate Rex Wilder wrote

To a Mermaid

The missionary fog would have all land sea

And me a fish, or merman, and every tree

Salted and buffeted by current.

Her grey grace

Sways me, admittedly, and some days,

I lean toward the ocean and half-convert,

Feeling foreign in the air, and flirt

With the idea of making a life in the ocean.

If only you were here to second the motion.