By Ines Bojlesen
Aye, I come from back and beyond, my barking irons, long gone. I have encountered many a buccaneer, corsair, filibuster, while sailing under a letter of marque. I’ve gone on account, I’ve walked the plank, zenith so close to being the end. Boreas saved me and lifted me to safety. No more plundering for me.
I became a barrelman of sorts; eyes and ears glued to the horizon, watching looking, from the comfort of my lookout point. Here, on firm ground, I share my space with crows, hummingbirds, blue and stellar jays, robins and squirrels. At level with the treetops, I feel the wind on my face, I smell the fresh rain on the leaves. All friends, no foes to fight with, no cannon balls to fret.
With the early sunlight, I see shadows emerging from a dense fog, turning from blurred profiles into trees of many shapes and sizes, rooftops and parked vehicles. One by one sleeping human figures leave their pigeonholed homes and get into their four-wheeled carriages. Children burdened by their heavy backpacks stroll unhurriedly to the bus stop.
The sound of lawn mowers, leaf blowers and passing cars take over the singing and chirping of birds. A carpenter’s saw and hammer join the busy workday symphony.
Later in the day I hear the footsteps of children running home, eager to relax and have fun after a day of learning. And one by one, neighbors arrive back from work, turning lights on and soon the smell of food being prepared invades the air. Darkness falls, noises subside, and a penumbra of shapes is all I Can see.
As I leave my crow’s nest for the night, I see a flashback the happenings of one or more days gone by. Another sailing in the immensity of this universe, of which I am but sand, a small particle. I fall asleep to dream that takes me back to my galleon until I wake to the next aurora.
Ines a native of Brazil who went to school in the Pacific Northwest, and spent many years with her husband Bertel, sailing the waters around Brazil, before they moved back to the Pacific Northwest. She now lives in a four story condo in Lake Oswego, Oregon, among the tree tops.