Captive

By: Kelly Easton

It’s a whole crew

that keeps her floating,

this ship from listing, sinking

The captain’s missing

First mate has stepped in

Grand, solid grip on the wheel

‘May you have a good life!’ young

boy proclaims, brandishing coiled

paper sword, innocent in might

The breezes are soft and sweet

in this lilt, far cry from tempests

of autumn’s mistral, misplaced

But where does she head?

A wayward breeze floats by

Lifting ocean, in her stead

Silent currents, rolling, trace

the map under sea’s silver thread;

Captain’s up ahead

---

Kelly Easton holds a Master of Arts in French Translation and Conference Interpretation. She spent fifteen years interpreting in the halls of diplomacy, working with the words of others. She now tends to her own writing. She recently founded Compass Rose Literary Journal: compassroselitrrary.com