Carol Raisfeld
Weather or Not
A small fleet of six boats, we enjoyed a wonderful weekend with fair winds and calm seas almost all the way home from the Channel Islands.
Having passed through the shipping lanes a sudden squall approached … rumbling clouds, increasing winds, lightning. Batten down the hatches!
The gusts began to sound like gunshots. Boats would disappear into a trough and reappear in foam at the top of a wave. Shout answered shout as we replaced mainsails with storm try-sails. The heart-thumping adrenaline rush lasted just under an hour and then was gone. As skies cleared and seas calmed we raised the sails hearing giddy laughs from those who finished crying.
All the boats came through in one piece but for a few shredded sails and some neon-green faces. Coming around the break-wall into the night lights of the marina … hugs, sighs and smiles from ear to ear … we cheered! It was the best of times.
I wonder
are ephemeral moments
a twinkle of eternity
so much of life passes
without our being in it
About the Author
Carol Raisfeld lives in Atlantic Beach, New York. The winner of international awards and an anthologized poet, her art and photography appear worldwide in print and online journals.