16 August 2016

My mind is entertained
by the contrast
of the scene:  Rich yachtsmen,
decked out, head-to-toe, in J. Crew;
and scruffy, sweaty shipwrights
climbing all over hulls,
sawing, fitting, hammering, caulking;

the crystal tinkling stems
of wine glasses; the slap
of thermoses on planking;
the social laughter of a joke,
shared; the grunting groans
of effort when wood won’t
curve just so;

the languages, spoken, in this
little town of boats and ships,
languages that thread together
the ambiance of place;
languages that capture
lives on the page of effort
of man in time.

Philip Kuepper
(30 July 2016)