On Deck in Rough Water
The ship rocked from side to side
and I was the only one on deck.
Leaning over the railing,
I took the salty wind
full in the face
and watched,
with a trembling exhilaration,
the giant breakers
unrestrained, roaring,
like wild beasts of the ocean.
They slapped against the sides furiously.
Spray cannoned off the steel.
I’d been alone before.
But never so fiercely.
poem by John Grey