The LampShade

Two schooners sail motionless
across my desk lampshade.
Their golden sails are stiff
in wind that stirs the sea
to swells and troughs
of white and brown that glow
through yellowed cloth.

The sky is orange and brown,
filled with soaring gulls,
each black or white,
painted simply, as a "check",
by an artist passing time
before a curved canvas.

The lamp glows with light
so soft, so warm,
it seems the storm-tossed waves
welcome sailors
and urge them safely
off on faraway journeys.

I see myself, a fleck of black,
an accidental drip of the brush,
perched above the sturdy prow
that plows wind and waves.
I sit in peace, eyes closed,
inked quill in hand,
dreaming of lands beyond
my sharply turned horizon.

Scott Speck
01/08/2002