A flag hangs off the stern. Red and white stripes dance in sporadic, undulating beats. A white swath through grey green beyond.
Published: July, 2005
A flag hangs off the stern.
Red and white stripes dance
in sporadic, undulating beats.
A white swath through grey green beyond.
Two seagulls follow, then three.
Perhaps a morsel of food will let
loose in the wind.
Rock island off port side
desolate and dead but for
the stirring of the gulls and
the purple patches of spring.
Off starboard a city lifts out of the water.
The words "Welcome Home"
at the end of a pier
written in patriotic colors to the
returning sailor.
The sky above is low ceiling
of dark grey, white grey puffs and streaks and the air feels of the ocean’s waters.
Engines turn down suddenly.
Our arrival.
A sweeping bridge grey and graceful
links sky and water.
A steady flow of vehicles
along the expanse. The ferry now rocks in the motion of its wake and a passage of people step for shore.
by Liz Wilkie, Vallejo ferryrider, written Spring of 2002
