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---
title: 'Shipwright'
project: 'Elegies for Alternate Selves'
...
He builds a ship as if it were the last thing \
holding him together, as if, when he stops, \
his body will fall onto the plate-glass water \
and shatter into sand. To keep his morale up \
he whistles and sings, but the wind whistles louder \
and taunts him: Your ship will build itself \
if you throw yourself into the sea; time \
has a way of growing your beard for you. \
Soon, you'll find yourself on a rocking chair \
on some porch made from your ship's timbers. \
The window behind you is made from a sail, thick \
canvas, and no one inside will hear your calling \
for milk or a chamberpot. Your children \
will have all sailed to the New World and left you. \
But he tries not to listen, continues to hammer \
nail after nail into timber after timber, \
but the wind finally blows him into the growling ocean \
and the ship falls apart on its own.
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