The Sea Of Salvation

In a boat on the sea of salvation,
a man rowed with steady dedication,
his oars slicing through the briny deep,
Guiding him onward, no time to sleep.

But suddenly, from beneath the waves,
Came the mighty wale of guilt, a slave
to the past, to the mistakes he'd made,
to the regrets that never fade.

The man's boat was rocked by the force
of the wale, felt its remorse
filling his heart, weighing him down,
threatening to make him drown.

Holding on tight to his oars,
summoning strength from his inner stores,
pushing back against the wale's hold,
determined to reach his goal.

And so he rowed, with all his might,
through the day and into the night,
until the wale grew faint and small,
and he knew he had overcome it all.

The man emerged from the sea of salvation
A new man, forged through dedication,
stronger for having faced his guilt,
and rowed on to his destiny, rebuilt.

Roger Smith
April 2023

A Mojave Moment

When the bus broke down on the way to Vegas
we had a choice
stay inside and cook
or seek the shade
on the far side of the bus and look
at Joshua trees
twisted in the shimmering heat

Our Mojave moment
blistered with dry fence posts at strange angles
a listless wind vane pumping nothing
for nobody and going nowhere

Over the State line
a blaze of neon
announces the prospect
of a cool beer
but the only froth in sight
spews from the emptying radiator

Going to Vegas always was a gamble

Mojave Desert
Art: Roger Smith

COVID Capers

The couple doing their stretches in a garage
converted to a make-shift gym
dog walkers on a leash smile and wave
at me, or was it him?

The great silence.

Can you hear it? 

Still

Falling leaves cushion the tread
of the morning walk
A pile of books long stored
and seldom read

Buckle in for the long term
the world as we knew it is no more
its nature's way of settling the score.

Roger Smith, April, 2020