"Sea-Cravings"

Born for beauty, built for battle—

One forged in steel, the other in paddle.

Guided missiles on radar tracks,

Guided muscle navigating contacts.

Reinforced keels that slice with care

Through that sunlight layer just below the air

Twin turbines whine a rhythmic lore,

Yet, in both, torque comes from the core.

Twin shafts spin a soft harmonic scream,

Two cedar blades slice abeam.

Each vessel cleaves the briny blue—

One in armor, one in hue.

Displacing water with steady might,

Carving wake in day or night.

Speed and stability chart their fates,

One through orders, one through surf breaks—

Of tide and current, gust and swell,

Each with a story, each with a spell.

One flies flags with nations' claims,

One floats free, unbound by names.

Yet side by side, in dock or dream,

They share the sea's eternal scheme.

Distance and touring, peace or alarm—

Each answers the ocean, each sings her charm.

To the sailors of now and past

Many Jollies, a few good Follies,

may your compass ever last

Faiwinds and Seas that follow fast.