There once was born a daring girl

Who longed to sail around the world

Her family lived in Providence

A town of plain inconsequence

It was a sheltered life she led

Secluded folk are simply bred

Christina was her Christian name

And stubbornness her claim to fame

Her mother often scolded, “No!”

And when she did the wind would blow

It whispered fiction mixed with fact

And when it did the girl would laugh

With suspiration it implored

“Come trek and travel and explore!”

It spoke of enterprising schemes

And made adventures pleasing seem

For dreams came true for ingenues

When gentle zephyrs on them blew

Time slowly passed and she grew up

And came the day she’d had enough

She gathered all her worldly goods

And left her childhood neighborhood

Now, Providence was near a fort

And frequently she’d heard reports

Of far flung and exotic parts

Each destination tugged her heart

She knew one day she’d sail away

To foreign lands where she would play

She’d long prepared her coming flight

Convinced was she that she was right

How eagerly her boat she bought!

For with it came escape she sought

Her mother begged her not to go

For she knew trouble’s undertow

But Tina’s mind refused to give

She swore that on her own she’d live

So with the west wind at her back

She said goodbye and starboard tacked

As Tina took her final leave

Her mother’s pleas supplied the breeze

Till Providence just disappeared

And with it all the girl held dear

She left behind her discontent

And with it went her arguments

Without her mother’s cautious words

No breath of air was felt or heard 

With nothing upon which to rail

Her thrilling gale had ceased its tale

These doldrums caused her boat to stall

But this predicament she solved

She grabbed an oar and tried to row

And managed to a small way go

Though paddling didn’t work so well

Because her sails refused to swell

She wished for the antithesis 

As foolishly she reminisced

Until a cat’s paw blew one night

And gradually reversed her plight

Its sly puff blew her off her course

And drew her with increasing force

Disturbing currents soon arose

And wakened her from her repose 

Now suddenly the seas were high

And thunder rumbled in the sky

No longer did her sails hang down

They answered to the keening sound

The wind made in its violent quest

To put our hero to the test

They cracked and shuddered in the blast

Until in splinters split her mast

It tipped entangled in its ropes

And made it hard to stay afloat

The foaming ocean washed her deck

Submerging her in danger’s depths

Now destiny was calling, “Come!”

It seemed resoundingly to drum

Unlike her mother’s soft demands

This was a booming reprimand!

A blustery gust soon swept across

And it grew hard to fend the froth

When Tina’s boat at last capsized

No one was there to hear her cries

A giant wave came crashing down

It seemed a certainty she’d drown

Belatedly, she came to see

The folly of what she’d believed

She never thought she’d die so young

But now it seemed the time had come

A flashing bolt of lightning slashed

And shattered Tina’s tiny craft

She grabbed a board and held on tight

And sadly wished with all her might

That she could find a friendly shore

For sailing suited her no more

She drifted aimlessly for days

Ambition turned into malaise

The water lapped about her neck

As Tina clung on to her wreck

Expecting sharks would circle soon

She contemplated now her doom

But finally on one rainy dawn

She lay in shallow water calm

The tide receded from the beach

And left her safe upon a reef 

Though she’d rehearsed it many times

This outcome caused complete surprise

It seemed she’d found an unknown land

But being shipwrecked spoiled her plans

Such dislocation meant despair

And stripped her of her will to care

No, Tina didn’t laugh and run

For being stranded wasn’t fun 

How gloomy was her somber mood

For life she thought she understood!

With chastened pace she limping left 

As sorrow dogged her weary steps

She didn’t much attend the wind

Although it counseled, “You can win!”

No matter what its sage advice

She wouldn’t let it fool her twice

For days she wandered here and there

For quite some time she ceased to care

Her life was one unending climb

She lost her way – oh! Many times!

Eventually she passed through trees

And moving higher she could see

A mountain seated in the mist

It beckoned her to find her bliss

So, hoisting high her haversack

She ploddingly resumed her track

She reached the peak without delay

And soon recalled her yesterdays

For there below was Providence

The place she’d left her prominence

And in her panoramic scope

She saw behind her craggy slope

Beyond the trees there flowed the sea

And how she stared in disbelief!

The waves looked small seen from above

But that’s the way our pain becomes

For when we’ve conquered it at last

It shrinks into perspective vast

A long time gazing back she stood

Until she thought perhaps she should

Return to where she had begun

The home from which in haste she’d run

For from her pinnacle she saw

The valley was where she belonged

For after all that she’d been through

Her life lay in the place she grew

At times our most beloved dreams

Are not exactly what they seem

But most of us must make the trip

And let the waves capsize our ship

Before we learn that who we are

Is not determined by how far

Or where we journey in our boat

But by how well we stay afloat

So if you hear the wind’s behest

Think hard before you answer, “Yes!”

If curiosity prevails

Be careful how you trim your sails

For if you think you know your fate

Wait till you’ve made your first mistake!

And if you fancy yourself wise

Wait till your destiny says, “Rise!”

Marcia Thornton

Monday, October 31, 2016

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