O Captain! The Captain!

I opened the door and there he stood. The captain, resplendent in heavy coat and tricorn hat.

My day had come. I was to be recruited.

My life was to be at sea.

I had always known. I had never given up.

Every evening, I go down to look upon the sea; to plunge up to calf; to feel her around me.

She spoke to me. She made me see.

I was the last of the clan. It was me, or to be the end of our line.

This was my destiny.

I knew he would come. And here he was, framed by door.

I heard told he was an impressive man. And it was true, every word.

He spoke to me now, the captain: “Does Neil live here?”

“Uhm . . . no,” I replied. “No. No one called Neil lives here. Only me, Horatio.”

The captain tipped his tricorn hat to me. “Sorry to bother you, Horatio,” he said, before walking back up the garden path.

vss #34