Alistair McHarg - Self-Portrait

Alistair McHarg, Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire, August 2010

A Salty Dog

Tattered sails

Swell with breath

My battered boat

Groans and complains

As it’s guided from

Safe harbor to the

Cold and merciless sea

By invisible hands

I am weary of adventures

Scarred from fighting monsters

Hideous ones

Beautiful ones

All I ever wanted was a cat

A hearth, a dram, a meal

A woman who knew how to sew

A roof and wall to guard against

The cruelties of winter

But fate decrees that I am bound

Bound to the mast

Bound to the sea

Whatever rocky coast

Is my new home

I’ll tell my story there

Whatever rocky coast

Is my new home

I’ll tell my story there

Alistair McHarg