An Incomplete Love Story
Squat tooting tugs and barked commands,
Gruff sailors straining, lines cast off:
Our Stars and Stripes glide up proud mast,
This ship, vibrating, coaxed to life,
Brown river, churning, drifts behind …
Behind, behind, where spouses mope
From vantage on the shrinking wharf;
Among them, Gail does linger still,
Her crimson dress so vivid, clear:
A fit of breeze wafts through her hair,
Frail palm she reaches out again,
Sun glints and shimmers on her ring,
Bright gem I offered from bent knee—
And oh! the tears, wet bursting flood
From eyes I’ve known since playground days,
I hugged her tight, my future wife,
But now, that bliss, our love must wait …
I hide my tears, watch Norfolk fade,
Then buoys, coast, blue ocean waves;
Gray warship, this, cuts through the sea
Yet, still, my heart remains ashore,
I dearly yearn just one glimpse more.
July 12, 2018
An Incomplete Love Story Poetry Contest,
Faraz Ajmal, sponsor
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