The Missouri Sea

For Hal Ragsdale

“And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by”

            --John Masefield

You wrecked Linda by dying
first, but you returned

with a second heart.

After her death, you crafted

your house to berth her back

to you, slowly if necessary,
with an electric lighthouse as your

séance candle, with her antique

model ships surrounding you—many

ready lifeboats. But framed 

and prominent near your TV

was the store-bought poster

of a man dwarfed by the lighthouse

that was dwarfed by a wave 

crashing into it. 

Photo by Jean Guichard