The Romance of the Permanent Wake
Man’s way of chaos-handling shows,
he tames his universe with zest;
trace where he was, or goes; man knows
his wake defines where he’ll be missed.
Sleek airplane’s hum is clearly heard,
impulse, man’s wave to unknown mates:
no sooner flown this silver bird,
than vapour trail evaporates.
Salt sailor bold bad weather braves,
he stares astern at widening wake
through foam-flecked seas tossed ship breaks waves,
though wake’s erased where bruised wave break.
Airplane’s thin trail ? It came, and went.
Wake is erased by wave’s torments;
but two glistening, snaking rails accent
man’s way : man’s wake made permanent !
Alan McAlpine Douglas, father to 5 and grandfather to 3, has been writing poetry since 1993. His idiosyncratic voice has produced thousands of poems in this time, and he finds it quite hard to stay serious, even when he means to. He also enjoys writing spoofs, using well-known poems or songs like Clementine or In the Ghetto as his models.
You have captured man's romance with connecting the country by rail so cleverly in your unique style Alan. This poem is a work of art that relates so brilliantly to man's endeavor to leave behind a part of himself through the toil it took to build the railroad which became that cornerstone of our connection across the land. This poem is a very impressive joy to read. Please drop by to post it at PFT. Aloha, Connie
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