Monday, February 6, 2012

Farewell to the Sea

By Juliette M. van de Mheen (stardustraven)

He never wanted to leave
He had seen dolphins
Heard gulls' mews

Memories of great whales
A chance encounter
With a calf, mother and aunt

Sun, waves and wind
Revelling in her vastness
From New York to Java

Sailing on all "Grandes Dames"
In all their glory
S.S. Rotterdam, S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam

Nevermore the freedom
Of a salty, unpredictable mistress
Whether she hummed or roared

She was his gal
This vibrant and ever alluring
Turquoise prima donna

Sadly, his halcyon days
Would not last
Back on shore

This profound grief
Ate away at him
His bouts of anger

Shut us out
If only
He would have allowed....

We brought him away
Between wood and dunes
He rests beside her.


Juliette M. van de Mheen lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She has worked at the University Library of Amsterdam, where she worked partially for the Rare and Early Printings Project), and she now works at the Municipal Archive. Five other poems were published at Naturewriting.com, The Shofar Literary Review and Troubadour21. Readers can find her blog here.

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