Grounded on the Girl
There was a man who used to float
As if life were waves and he a boat
He had no anchor and showed no sails
But he’d a sturdy hull and well worn rails
He went wherever the current roamed
Even when it stormed and the ocean foamed
He’d watch the shore as it passed him by
But nothing on land ever caught his eye
Animals of all sorts played off his bow
And he’d stay and play as much as the sea would allow
Sometimes he’d drift out over the deep
But sometimes the bottom was only ten feet.
He never touched land, or let it touch him back
And he was just fine traveling, “Nothing wrong with that!”
“Life is about living, that much is clear.
And then one fine day I’ll just disappear.”
The very next day when the current was slow
It took him by a shore which he did not know
A fine spot of land, all green and beflowered,
“I won’t mind if I cruise by for the next several hours.”
Two hours passed and the lush landscape soured,
Jagged cliffs rose, the trees twisted and towered
Just before rounding a jutted out set of rocks
He looked up and saw a girl with raven locks
Her hair was so black it swallowed all of the light
Save what shone in her eyes, which were large with fright
She was alone and her feet close to the edge
And he realized quite quickly what lay ahead
“Don’t do it!” he yelled, “there’s rocks all around.”
But she was too high and the wind stole the sound
For the first time in years he looked back up the stream
He fought the waves, and white the seagulls screamed
She uttered no sound, nor did she cry
When the cliffs were suddenly rushing by
The water was cold, it went straight to her heart
But that organ was frozen and broken apart
That should have been it, goodbye consciousness
But a kind man saved her from the black abyss
She awoke on his deck, rocking with the swells
And there sat the man, known as Jim Travels
Her skin was tan and her eyes a pale blue
She wore a red dress, which was now soaked through
“Excuse me my friend, but what is amiss
why did you jump from the top off the cliffs?”
“My dad was a sailor, like his father before
They sailed in big ships and rarely came ashore
They lived on the sea and loved her completely
More than my mother, more than even me.
“My father’s mistress claimed him, and my mother too
I’m the last of my line, there’s one thing left to do
The sea will take all, she turns none away
My family will be whole, the sun sets on my day
“I’m sorry to ruin such a well laid plan
But surely there’s something you could do on the land?”
“I hear the same call my father heard from the sea’s spray
But when I tried to join crews, I was turned away.”
She looked at the vessel and looked at the man
And he knew what she’d ask before she began
“Your ship is strong, but there’s rust and it leans
Could I stay here and help you keep it oiled and clean?”
He was much older than she and held life’s pain on his brow
And while tragedy had touched her, she wore innocence’s crown
The thought of a companion only came in his dreams
But he saw just one choice, life is what it seems
“You can’t come with me, I’m headed into the black
It’s too soon for you not to be coming back.
You’re young and you’re strong, the road’s wide and it’s long
Just stay near the sea and listen for my song.”
And then he did something he’d never done before
He grounded the boat so she could go ashore
Before she stepped off, to make her new found life grow
She kissed him with everything young love can bestow
The tide then swept in and pulled Jim Travels back
Out into the sea, from the blue to the black
The girl with ebony hair watched till he was out of sight
Then turned towards the trees knowing he’d been right
Jim Travels still travels, he never did disappear
But the girl’s time has passed, by two hundred years
Though on breezy days some say they see sails
Full canvas is showing, a raven haired girl’s at the rails
(This is an alternate ending for the last two lines, since I found this poem could mean other things.)
"Though on breezy days some see out past the rocks
The girl... the man... and his big blue box."
As if life were waves and he a boat
He had no anchor and showed no sails
But he’d a sturdy hull and well worn rails
He went wherever the current roamed
Even when it stormed and the ocean foamed
He’d watch the shore as it passed him by
But nothing on land ever caught his eye
Animals of all sorts played off his bow
And he’d stay and play as much as the sea would allow
Sometimes he’d drift out over the deep
But sometimes the bottom was only ten feet.
He never touched land, or let it touch him back
And he was just fine traveling, “Nothing wrong with that!”
“Life is about living, that much is clear.
And then one fine day I’ll just disappear.”
The very next day when the current was slow
It took him by a shore which he did not know
A fine spot of land, all green and beflowered,
“I won’t mind if I cruise by for the next several hours.”
Two hours passed and the lush landscape soured,
Jagged cliffs rose, the trees twisted and towered
Just before rounding a jutted out set of rocks
He looked up and saw a girl with raven locks
Her hair was so black it swallowed all of the light
Save what shone in her eyes, which were large with fright
She was alone and her feet close to the edge
And he realized quite quickly what lay ahead
“Don’t do it!” he yelled, “there’s rocks all around.”
But she was too high and the wind stole the sound
For the first time in years he looked back up the stream
He fought the waves, and white the seagulls screamed
She uttered no sound, nor did she cry
When the cliffs were suddenly rushing by
The water was cold, it went straight to her heart
But that organ was frozen and broken apart
That should have been it, goodbye consciousness
But a kind man saved her from the black abyss
She awoke on his deck, rocking with the swells
And there sat the man, known as Jim Travels
Her skin was tan and her eyes a pale blue
She wore a red dress, which was now soaked through
“Excuse me my friend, but what is amiss
why did you jump from the top off the cliffs?”
“My dad was a sailor, like his father before
They sailed in big ships and rarely came ashore
They lived on the sea and loved her completely
More than my mother, more than even me.
“My father’s mistress claimed him, and my mother too
I’m the last of my line, there’s one thing left to do
The sea will take all, she turns none away
My family will be whole, the sun sets on my day
“I’m sorry to ruin such a well laid plan
But surely there’s something you could do on the land?”
“I hear the same call my father heard from the sea’s spray
But when I tried to join crews, I was turned away.”
She looked at the vessel and looked at the man
And he knew what she’d ask before she began
“Your ship is strong, but there’s rust and it leans
Could I stay here and help you keep it oiled and clean?”
He was much older than she and held life’s pain on his brow
And while tragedy had touched her, she wore innocence’s crown
The thought of a companion only came in his dreams
But he saw just one choice, life is what it seems
“You can’t come with me, I’m headed into the black
It’s too soon for you not to be coming back.
You’re young and you’re strong, the road’s wide and it’s long
Just stay near the sea and listen for my song.”
And then he did something he’d never done before
He grounded the boat so she could go ashore
Before she stepped off, to make her new found life grow
She kissed him with everything young love can bestow
The tide then swept in and pulled Jim Travels back
Out into the sea, from the blue to the black
The girl with ebony hair watched till he was out of sight
Then turned towards the trees knowing he’d been right
Jim Travels still travels, he never did disappear
But the girl’s time has passed, by two hundred years
Though on breezy days some say they see sails
Full canvas is showing, a raven haired girl’s at the rails
(This is an alternate ending for the last two lines, since I found this poem could mean other things.)
"Though on breezy days some see out past the rocks
The girl... the man... and his big blue box."
