Louis has had quite enough.
This business is for the birds.
Only an idiot beats his head
Against a wall so thick,
It leaves a permanent mark.
Not very attractive, indeed.
Louis needs to reinvent himself.
Find a new craft worth sailing
Around the Cape of Good Hope—
Or any headland that will have him.
If not now, when, he reasons.
How long must he wait
Until it’s too late for steerage,
And he’s grounded once again.
Surely, the moment has arrived.
Any more talk remains foolish.
Words cannot be trusted.
Louis rights himself for the rain
He knows is fast approaching
From fear’s big island.
Reads his rusty compass.
Leans into the prevailing wind.
Adjusts his direction, accordingly.
Bart Edelman’s poetry collections include Crossing the Hackensack, Under Damaris’ Dress, The Alphabet of Love, The Gentle Man, The Last Mojito, The Geographer’s Wife, Whistling to Trick the Wind, and This Body Is Never at Rest: New and Selected Poems 1993 – 2023. He lives in Pasadena, California.