Harbor master, give notice to mariners
of an embargo dryly reckoned: fondness
leads to love, and love to loss, in this
the world betrays us all. Tell all the ships
sitting heavy in the water, laden
with bolts of silk and kegs of ichor
that they must turn and sail instead up the coast.
We have nothing here but some fishing skiffs
and an ancient tug none admit to owning
though we all take a turn running her
out to the buoy and back twice a week,
just to be sure she can still make the trip.
We can hear love’s feral children howling
in the hills behind us, nights with no moon,
and we still leave them bread and oranges,
but their bent shadows darting through the trees
are all the betrayal we need. Go now,
give notice, give us what we deserve
while we wait for the tide to take us down.
Marc Pietrzykowski lives and works and writes in Niagara County, NY, USA. He has published various and sundry poems, stories, and essays, as well as 8 books of poetry and 2 novels. He runs the small press Pski’s Porch Publishing when not trying to breathe. His most recent book of poems, So Much Noise, and book of short stories, Monarchs of the Undertow, are available now. You can visit Marc virtually at www.marcpski.com, and the press at www.pskisporch.com.