TALL SHIPS by Meredith Davies Hadaway

TALL SHIPS

They glide into our small
waterfront, behemoths

from another era, rigging lit
to glitter in both sky and water.

Maritime cathedrals, masts
and sails for buttresses, floating

out of time and place,
as only beauty can. Sure, our

past is troubled, and the future
is unclear. But the stars that blink

beyond these wavering pennants—
long-extinguished, across

enormous distances—their light
still reaches us.

—Meredith Davies Hadaway

“Tall Ships,” from [Among the Many Disappearing Things] by Meredith Davies Hadaway, as performed with Joe Holt, piano, at a recent Mainstay concert. “Falling Sky,” watercolor, by Greg Mort.