Dan Hampson
Embarcation Lounge
after a painting by Dan Hampson
are they in a dream already
or are they waiting
for a dream to start
these sad blue sailors
at this departure point
for an unknown world
no sailor wants to catch another’s eye
no sailor wants to give away his thoughts
no sailor wants to appeal for love
look at them
they are dispensable
they have interchangeable walk-on parts
in the glamour of a confident captain’s narrative
but each knows he will have to be a hero
if out of the blue should appear a reef
a storm
an iceberg
a landfall without hope
sad blue sailors
huddled in the bottom of their own picture
inward-looking, wary and homeless
waiting for colour
and the dream of release
to start
