Red boat

sometimes,I feel like a purposeless
red boat that drifts
from shore to shore,
from dream to dream

while others write love songs,
I imagine how I could fill
an entire sea with bitterness
and salty pearls
of sin

my mermaids hate me to bits-
they're wicked enough to cast
a hazy spell of land,
yet never too shy to strip me bare
of an entire continent

these sails of broken silk
cannot mend wild winds
nor can they safely bring
a crew of blinded souls
to an epiphany

my wooden ribs welcome
waves of crimson shine
with giddy cracklings-
it's how I become alive,
it's when I smell
the end is ripe

sometimes,I feel like a sunken
red boat that sways
from day to day,
from abyss to abyss