We dare not go ashore lest, perchance, we get into a snare
Distances are vast, we know, what will the horizons show,
We all know, said the valiant Sailors, from midstream out there
We are stranded and, as we see it, we have no place to go.

Shipwrecked, in the waters of the Oceans now for sometime
Destiny unfolding nothing, as we our lines daily see,
We’ve moved from Prose to Psalms and back to old Rhyme
Still afloat, the surface kind, as only waters can be.

We were hungry, starving, thirsty too, all thirty-two of us
The Captain, the leader true, by example did he lead,
Light, the moments that he kept calling this our bus
And, from his life and its pages, to us did he read.

We knew we were never alone, though,  never truly by ourselves
For, with us always is the One who chooses to test, heart and soul,
He who, from the Skies Unknown, into each Being delves
He, who makes us feel incomplete and then, sometimes, whole.

‘Twas a time of great import, with all our lives at bay
Uncertainty, never easy, so much more difficult at sea or lagoon,
The Vastness of Nature and its many Wings, all on full display
Left, Right and Everywhere , forests, oceans, mountains, the Moon.

Nature, helped us re-group, helped us and Time too
As is the wont of all God’s things that He does on us shower,
We don’t know, from where and how came to us the clue
Waiting for us, on the sands, were a thousand with a flower.

More gladdened hearts you will never have seen, anywhere at all
Here were we, all desolate Sailors, staring at a grim Destiny
But, the Candle of Hope, all ablaze, its rays not letting us fall
Such is the majesty, the strength of faith in Hope, ‘twas truly Eternity.

We smiled and prayed, shed tears too, in all humility
Thanked the Lord and our Captain too, for guiding us through,
When all appeared so dark and glum and nothing but gloomy
We saw the silver lining, silhouette the clouds and Life again, we knew.

(The author is a prolific poet who has over 40 poetry books to his credit. He can be reached at ashoksawhny06@gmail.com/ www.ashoksawhny.com)