Adventure

Jovial Jane of the Spanish Main

Standard

Jovial Jane of the Spanish Main
Was a saltwater woman in soul
Yet within the timbers of her heart
Rested a peculiar hole

Now, Jovial Jane of the Spanish Man
Had a very fine feathered hat.
She sent her foes to the briny depths
(But never harmed dog nor cat).

And Jovial Jane of the Spanish Main
Had a Damascus steel blade so light
She could the cut the heart out of a scurvy knave
Before even starting to fight.

Jovial Jane of the Spanish Main
Feared naught but the squall and reef
And woe to the wind or sandy shoal
That brought her ship to grief.

Jovial Jane of the Spanish Main
Sat in the crow’s nest above
And wondered if maybe the thing she was lacking
Was someone to trust and to love

So Jovial Jane of the Spanish Main
Picked up her compass and steel
Her fine feathered hat she set on her head
And planted her feet at the wheel.

Jovial Jane of the Spanish Main
Never stop sailing the blue
Because Jovial Jane of the Spanish Main
Was always looking for you.

Small Realizations: A Sonnet

Standard

Dappled sunlight white and yellow fell
Upon my couch with pillows orange and blue,
And I resplendent in this cozy spell
Thought lightly about life and what I do.
I am one who crossed the great wide sea,
Who lives a life away from what is known.
I shrugged off comfort and complacency
And left for foreign shores and foreign towns.
In truth I did not give these musings strength
(A Sunday morning is best spent in rest)
I sent them off with tea until at length
One tiny thought sat heavy in my chest:
How have I crossed the world and lived by chance
Yet never once have I been asked to dance?

—

No joke! I was just sitting there, on my couch, thinking about nothing in particular, when it occurred to me that I have never been asked to dance.

Wait…

I think I was asked to dance when I was in seventh grade? SEVENTH. GRADE. Oh my God, what happened? I make light of it in this sonnet, but that is ridiculous!

Disconnect: A Sonnet

Standard

Apparently I am on a sonnet kick lately. Like my haiku kick earlier this year, but with more paired rhymes! This one is about the danger of having everything at your fingertips.

Disconnect

I will not blame you for your great malaise.

I understand your boredom with the world

For what new sights could occupy your days?

What banner could want to go unfurl?

Is not the globe encompassed by your screen?

Are not all facts quite easily accessed?

No war outside, just gentle plastic sheen –

It must be hard to be so unimpressed!

Don’t dare to look beyond the moon at night;

The stars will stir in you an old desire.

And do not walk the world with eyes to bright,

Lest the mountains tempt you ever higher.

When all the Earth by mouse does lie uncovered,

Passion lies in wait to be discovered!