A Boy's Passage

As the wood floor boards creak, A silent curse leaves the boys lips. Only after the man turns a graying cheek, Does he crack the screen and slip Down to the shore to pray With only a rod and harp in hand. Heavy is the air with spray And numb his feet from sand. Once the boy settles still And looks out to sea, His dreams then materialize; Ones only God could instill. From the lapping of soft tides on the hull, To metallic tapping of a sheet in irons, Even the thunderous shock of a tacking boom; Only to be brought back by a squawking gull. All he wants is to float On the line of sea and sky. Alone with his Father in a wood hull boat, Where the deck boards creak and pry.