Ocean Poem

A Sailor's Story And How It Relates To Life

As a person who has spent many hours boating Lake Erie, I have learned to be very cognizant of the weather. Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, so when a storm erupts, it can be very treacherous. This poem relates to life in general where we are forewarned of danger but choose to venture out regardless. Nature sends us signs and we should listen.

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Hello fellow Lake Erie boater. I am thankful for your note. I know my poetry is very elementary, but I always try to base it on some personal experience. The Mentor Yacht Club is so...

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Red Morning Sky

Susan Vidd © more by Susan Vidd

Published by Family Friend Poems July 17, 2024 with permission of the Author.

The stillness is but a facade
Calm and peace fleeting
As I observe the clouds building
And the sound of my own heart beating.

Red sky this morning
Beauty to behold
To set sail now
Only for the bold.

Adrift we be
All is well
But winds increase
The waves now swell.

Too late to turn about
The point of no return,
Veterans of the sea
We never seem to learn.

From three to five
To seven and eight
Reef the sails
Before it is too late.

The clouds open
The rain cold like ice
Grab tight the helm
Our course now imprecise.

Wave after wave
Each third wave growing
The forces below
A ghostly vessel towing.

Keep the bow a 45 angle
Head straight on so as to wrangle,
Capture the tempestuous sea
Master the rhythm of windward and lee.

Remember the morning of red when set sail?
You departed recklessly with warning of gale.
Oh veteran sailor, will you ever learn?
Red sky in the morning, turn tail bow to stern!

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ABOUT THE POET:

First and foremost, Susan has no degree in writing. You might have noticed her poems are rather simple and silly or not written in the correct format. She just enjoys writing. Susan is a retired female firefighter and paramedic. Her most important job is revealed at the end of her poem "My ordinary Life." She has created 150...

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Has this poem touched you? Share your story!

Red skies in the morning sailors take warning: you filled in the blanks from many years past. Great description!!!
Hard to understand for those who have not spent time flipping off mother nature far from shore. I raced the Great Lakes from 1958 though 1977 out of Mentor Harbor Yacht Club aboard a Tartan 41. My friends that didn't go out on the water either didn't believe me or couldn't understand why I would sail non stop for 24 to 60 hours thirty miles off-shore with no chance of rescue should one of the crew need emergence help.
What I still miss the most about the mid-west/Erie is the thunder and lighting of a northwestern squall howling down on us like a run-a-way freight train, one hand for the boat-one hand for yourself.
Thanks for the memories

Mentally I didn't feel good today. Didn't want to read or write, was dead set against it. I talked myself in to one poem------It was the right one! Always amazing how words may create or devastate/// today I chose right!!!

Reply

Hello fellow Lake Erie boater. I am thankful for your note. I know my poetry is very elementary, but I always try to base it on some personal experience. The Mentor Yacht Club is so beautiful. I have been there, but I have never sailed on a Tartan 41. What a beautiful yacht. It sounds like you are quite the veteran sailor and brave to be that far off shore. We know how unpredictable Lake Erie can be, especially before the days of cell phones and instant radar. The fact that my simple poem brought you some joy on a difficult day encourages me to continue writing. Thank you for reading it and for sharing your Lake Erie adventures with me.
Susan

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