We Never Set Sail

We built a ship 

Tough and thorough bred

We had set out every morning and night

To forge a model like Noah’s Ark

Big enough to carry five

You and I 

And a pair 

And another 

It sat in a pool 

That had pooled our blood, our tears and wine

Now it was wide enough to carry

Deep enough to float

Shallow enough so it did not overflow

We thought to see a million cities

We thought to set foot on every island 

If the journey would be long and rough

Then we must build a ship resilient and tough

But How was the conundrum 

You said the nails must not drive too deep

The rosewood was delicate 

Too pretty to be hit by the sharp point of a fearless metal

I insist that deep would hold it strong 

For a million years

If we must set sail

We must never fail.

Oh, you saw a boat for a thousand days

I saw a ship for a million years

You saw the beauty of Tarkwa Bay

I saw the vast oceans of the Pacific beyond the Coogees 

You shut the door on it’s first city tour

You had a bridge to build and a better ‘dol

You had lost the gaze for our dreams and toil

And mocked the sailors map.

We built a ship so vast

With plans of cities and guests to cast

I feared for a saboteur’s nail

And that I would sink alone when the wind deals it deadliest blows.

So it seats on our pool of blood, tears and wine

But will not set sail.

Johannes Tobi Wojuola. March 16, 2019