Redemption - a poem by Robert L. Vogel

Redemption

 The maelstrom behind me bellows and roars,

sucks in waves of anger and misery,
thunder threatens, lightening cuts
like a broken razor in a madman's hand.

Above, black bottomed clouds swirl

a dark reflection of the roaring vortex.
Sea swells reach over the bow
and wash cold across the deck.

I sail onward, onward and away,

through smoke colored fog that parts to reveal
pale shards of light then covers
itself like a dancer might flash and tease. 

On the horizon, a point of black rock,

the sea breaks upon it and explodes, spurts
of white foam dangle in the air
then fall, then vanish, lost in the mist.

Through the haze, I see a hillside,

palms that fringe a pale beach,
quiet waters caress the sand:
it disappears into the mist like a dream.

Haul the sheets, hold the tiller true.

Fresh winds grab the sail,
fill its belly like a woman in labor,
drive us through the roll of the sea.
 
All the speed, all the speed,
pile it on and drive us home.
Fear the storm, use its power,
fly from danger, fly from fear

to the promise out on the horizon,

the image that teases my soul, appears
in the fog that parts and patches and parts,
to the hope of still waters ahead.

Bob Vogel

6/28/14