At Evening the Boats Crowd Towards Shore

November 14, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is beauty.

Today’s poem is about the beauty of sailing.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

At evening the boats crowd towards shore,

The yachtsmen eager for a night of talk

In bars and cafes, weary of the wind.

At dawn they drift back into the harbor

And sail loosely scattered into the bay.

From shore there is nothing more beautiful:

A schooner moves reluctant with the tide,

Sails taut, yet trailing the current,

Hung as if absorbed in meditation;

Or a sloop leaning into the water,

Ropes groaning, skin cracked in salt and sun--

Why does it do battle with the wind?

In winter, white with moonlight, the harbor

Holds nothing in the darkness of its arms.

The boats await the coming of the yachtsmen,

Who once again will fill the bay with grace.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/boats.html . For more poems about beauty, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Beauty.

November 14: At Evening the Boats Crowd TowardsShore