Passage Poems

During our time sailing offshore, both Rabbit and I have noticed the constant routine. It is a pattern that is flexible and feels both different and the same at once. At nearly the same time, and without any prompting or knowledge of each other's writing, we wrote these two poems. Realizing that posted separately one would seem a knock-off of the other, we joined them into one blog. My poem itself held meaning to me but the fact that we both wrote about the same topic at once holds more. I think that, in this format, we are presenting the poems in their most powerful form. Jack's poem describes a single day, which repeats itself. Mine describes the rhythm in general.-Porter

One Day, Everyday -JackRabbit

The repetition day after day
Awaken, School, Eat, Watch, Lunch, School, Read, Watch, Dinner, Bed
Every day on passage
Day after day
But I like it

At Eight in the morn
I open my eyes
And read till I'm truly awake
Then with a sigh
I always get up
And start school for benefit's sake
Awaken, School

Porter's on watch
From Eight to Ten
While I do history class
Then after a bite
Of leftovers for breakfast
My watch has come at last
Awaken, School, Eat

From Ten till Twelve
I'm keeping the watch
Ensuring we go the right way
Then around noon
The parents wake up
And we have lunch, a good time of day
Awaken, School, Eat, Watch, Lunch

Now is the time
I pass off my watch
To Porter, at twelve o'clock noon
From then until three
I do the rest of my school
And read till my watch will come soon
Awaken, School, Eat, Watch, Lunch, School, Read

From Three to Five
I ensure the boat
Is sailing and going okay
Then around five
We all gather round
And have dinner, the meal of the day
Awaken, School, Eat, Watch, Lunch, School, Read, Watch, Dinner

After we eat
It's around six o'clock
We do something to quiet us down
Either bed, watch, read
Podcast or small talk
Until in my dreams I am found
Awaken, School, Eat, Watch, Lunch, School, Read, Watch, Dinner, Bed

The repetition day after day
Awaken, School, Eat, Watch, Lunch, School, Read, Watch, Dinner, Bed
Every day on passage
Day after day
But I like it

On Passage -Porter

Routine in life
Watch, school, read
A constant fall-back
Lunch, read, watch
Structure to the day
Dinner, dishes, read
Steady in a moving boat
Podcast, read, sleep

Wing'n wing
Watch, school, read
Broad reach
Lunch, read, watch
Beam reach
Dinner, dishes, read
Close hauled
Podcast, read, sleep

Bright sun
Watch, school, read
Cloudy sky
Lunch, read, watch
Strong winds
Dinner, dishes, read
Weak winds
Podcast, read, sleep

Ever changing
Watch, school, read
Never the same
Lunch, read, watch
Different every day
Dinner, dishes, read
But it always ends with
Podcast, read, and sleep.

Ed. Note: We are indeed in the midst of great pattern and routine on passage! We left Muxia, Spain 11 days ago and as of midday on Tuesday, we have sailed 1,690 miles and have about 2,100 yet to go on this crossing, bound for the BVI. We are enjoying good wind, comfortable seas, fair skies and delightful company. All is well on Sila. 22°37N 28°45W