The Storm Swept Through

I often write about the ocean. I went to see a museum exhibit, yesterday, “Dutch Art in a Global Age.” The paintings of sailboats on the sea caught my attention. Breathtaking and romantic, admired them up closely, then from the center of the room. One artist was Ludolf Bakhuizen and his painting was “Ships in a Gale on the IJ before the City of Amsterdam.” THE STORM SWEPT THROUGH the storm swept through sails white & gray clouds competing ebb & flow of catawampus rain the heave-ho of the hulls crashing on malevolent waves the sky falls squeezes out thunderous soak cantankerous whitecaps like moon craters rise & fall cerulean hope bleeds through as the sun bruises the hullabaloo lightning shows off a couple more times than its lullaby hushes and the boats gently rock as if the infant is sound asleep the sea is smooth it is a smooth operator a breathing body of fickle water