by LJ Frank

I sat at a stained wood desk

with a worn teak deck underneath my feet

the Chinese Junk I’m on was built in the 1960s  

all things eventually need replacement 

after years sailing across the South China Sea

then heading for a port in the Western hemisphere

I was on a voyage

in the main cabin of my dreams…

and the now docked boat served as a retreat  

sails waiting

the fuel tanks empty

an engine in need of lubrication

a chance to scribble down a few words

with an old-fashioned ink pen & a bottle of India ink

balanced with a naked smile

as the sun rose over head

sipping from a mug of hot caffeine

a draft of a long-ago idea floating

alongside a half-remembered face

I wondered if she was a reality after all

while seagulls fished the waters that cradled the hull

and I fished for a thought.