Sankaty Sails

After a long day of firing up the old framing muscles,
and after an arduous winter of lifting tiny brushes,
and bowing to the hard driving muses,
it is so nice to look at this painting,
the ferry docks at Wood’s Hole,
and know that in just a little over one week…we will be right there.

With a car full of freshly framed oil paintings,
we will be two wild and happy old women,
on board a great iron vessel…steaming for home.

I never tire of that 45 minute trip.
Even the passages which I have spent deep in the bowels,
catching a few last zzzzz’s on the 7am boat
before the long drive back to Pennsylvania,
or the one’s where I chose to shelter from the raging winter storms,
and look out over the freight boat’s rail,
while knitting those celtic fisherman’s patterns,
in the warm and cozy cab of the truck.

For those, and all those other trips,
when the summer sun was shining,
or the October fog blanketed the sound,
when the passengers played with the fly along gulls,
and the benches left our shorts wet from the waves,
and my camera caught just the right raking light on a rigging of canvas sail,
that was carrying some other sailor
home from the sea…

I owe all of that magic,
all of those memories,
all that the vineyard has become in our lives,
to that very first voyage,
can it be so close to 40 years ago…
with my friend Lynn.

Sail on silver girl.