Returned To the Sea
by Michael Doyle

At the ends of bargains made
Stormy seas leave reason to be afraid
Wondering where it is that one stands
And if a day is as profitable as it demands

Profits are calculated as life's reward
As a new bay is marked to sail toward
By tomorrow, we might be too dead to care
This is the bargain a pirate wager is fair

These are the false moves a pirate fakes
With each next step that he takes
Each is made hoping to live another day
Knowing death will claim him either way

Hopes are manufactured out of thin air
And though fruition is in hand, there is care
That all that has been given has been given for not
Because with one's death, the treasure is forgot

There are no legacies to this life but the sea
There are no monuments but the water we see
There are no great truths, just a handful of tales
Of mermaids, treasures, and giant whales

There are the false moves a pirate fakes
With each step that he takes
Each is made hoping to live another day
Knowing death will claim him either way

The ocean pays us, claims us, swallowing us whole
This is a pirate's life, and its God-forsaken toll
Though it is that we may stand ten feet tall
Eventually, this life will swallow us all

There is a lot of sorrow in a pirate's happiness
None of it would an honest man ever manage to miss
Let there be no regrets nor any trace of bitterness
This razor's edge knows no taste of tenderness

These are the false moves a pirate fakes
With each step that he takes
Each is made hoping to live another day
Knowing death will claim him either way

(c) August 15, 2024   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved