WITH APOLOGIES TO GREAT POETS

Hi! It's your Golden Oldie Auntie from ST. Thomas. Real Estate sucks, so I have plenty of time on my hands and what better time spent than on your behalf, lending a little cheer and onward and upward hurrahs. Of course, my version is always a tad old-fashioned and dowdy, but do I care? Nope. So here goes.

THE ALESSANDRA- ISLANDER 55

My mast as tall as the nearest star

My bow like a whetted knife

I'm off on a trip toward Zanzibar

In search of the rest of my life

My sails are white as a seagull's breast

My hull as strong as a vault

I sail the seas and rarely rest

'tis my one and only fault

My halyards sing in the lively breeze

My rudder is straight and true

I cruise along through the cobalt seas

A pleasure long overdue

I've journeyed the vast Pacific Rim

And now the Atlantic calls

Perhaps I'll stop in a quiet cove

As the twightlight gently falls

To cradle-rock in an islands's lee

My anchor deep in the sand

I'll dream of the wondrous times to come

When out of the sight of land

As morning breaks with a salt-air tang

And the wind whips fresh and new

I hear, far off-shore, the buoy's clang

And I have a rendezvous

With whatever lies ahead of me

Beyond the horizon line

That endless blend of sky and sea

Where all of the stars align

I'll reef my sails if the weather's rough

And my gunwales awash with foam

No matter the course, no matter how tough

His compass shall guide me home

LSC 2009