Charles Pierre. 2009. By Marcella Kerr.
Hi Paul,
Greetings from Manhattan. At this time of year, as temperatures warm along the coast, one can see sailboats being moved from winter storage on land to their berths at marinas. And as the wind picks up, one can hear their rigging striking the masts. Here is the poem “Tuning Forks,” from my 2008 collection, Father of Water.
Best wishes,
Charles Pierre
St. Thomas, USVI. Paul Goldfinger photo. ©
Tuning Forks
It is past midnight, and the sailboats
float side by side at a sheltered marina,
in stillness so complete that not even
a lapping against the hulls can be heard.
Yet high above the water, at the tops
of the mastheads, the rigging of each craft
starts to ring aloud in a rising wind,
the ropes and cables striking the masts,
sounding possible routes to new lands.
The musical tones, in random clusters,
sailing out from the crowded harbor
toward an uncharted ocean of dark.
JESSICA MOLASKEY with Stephen Foster’s “Beautiful Dreamer.” From Jessica’s album Pentimento