A Nautical Riddle
- A Nautical Riddle
I was a ship but not on the sea I had a keel unbuttressed by wrongs Mouth and meridian davit and hawser
I had a ratline draped forehead to ear Billet and bollard foc’sle and scuppers I breathed in water, was keel-hauled in air
Grog and bilge hardtack and weevils I was the saw that cut out the rot I had seams that begged for oakum
I was the mop that swabbed the decks And I was the swab Vessel and fleet harbor and berth
Week after week hammocked Hammered and scraped varnished and rigged I was a compass fixed in its bearings
Coffer and locks brightwork and windlass I was a doctor with a briefer name I was thirsty Tell me, what am I Repair me [End Page 65]
Michael Collier’s sixth book, An Individual History, will be published by W. W. Norton in 2012. In 2009 he received an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Maryland and is director of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.
