Full volumes,
fifty, side by side,
All soundings, reducers, and the tide;
The Smooth sheet there before him lies,
Caressed and studied by a hundred eyes.
Based on paper
– lasting made
That will do naught – but slightly fade;
A reliable reference for decades to be
For books, charts, and men at sea.
Fathograms to
be checked and verified,
A bottom true that will not hide;
Echoes, traces, and lots of kelp,
Patience, grief, and a little help.
Those are not
pearls, there in his eyes,
Unseen by him that daily strives;
But, the strain of one who looks to see
What isn’t there – BUT OUGHT TO BE!
In: “The
Buzzard,” Vol. 24, p. 20. June 22, 1956.
