Ceremonial Row

I imagine a ring of rowers
round the Charles W. Morgan*
as she makes her rechristening
voyage down Mystic River

into the Sound,
hence into the Atlantic,
the rowers round her
like a ring,

a ring signifying
a renewal of her vows,
her wedding vows
to the ocean.

Philip Kuepper
(July 2013)

*Today, after almost a five-year restoration, the last surviving wooden whaleship in the world, the Charles W. Morgan, will be launched at 2 p.m. in the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut. Wherever you are in the world, you will be able to watch the launch, more details here. In May next year, the Museum plans to take her to sea again, on her 38th Voyage to visit some of the New England ports where she anchored during her whaling heydays.