| Crossing in our Cat ( A poem in the style of Dr. Seuss) by Juanita Spoon Bendele On one fine September day From Cape Town we set out on our way In our thirty- eight foot catamaran That Admiral built for us by hand. To the other side of the world it seemed, Until now it had only been a dream. We named her Tee Time ‘cause we should, She loves to sail, we knew she would. Captains, two, we brought along To keep our cat from heading wrong. They’d made this journey many times With folks who weren’t the sailing kind. They showed us this, they showed us that, Everything about our cat. From bow to stern and back again, Until we could finally understand Why sails go here when wind blows there. That lines ‘round winches should be wrapped with care. We reefed our main and sometimes twice, And sometimes said things that were not nice. There are jacks that are lazy and jacks that stay, Vangs that boom, stay out of their way! Tack and clew, leach and luff, How will I ever learn this stuff? And along with beams reaching We sometimes saw whales breaching. And fish that fly, I’m not sure why, But fly they do, would I kid you? And dolphins came from everywhere To sail with us without a care. Swimming and diving beside our cat, So what do you think of that? At St. Helena isle, we’d planned to stop, So our anchor we did drop. Napoleon was sent here to live out his days, Did not like the place or its ways. So far from anything he could seize, He was a guy that was just hard to please. Brazil was the next stop for our cat, Where we ate and swam and sometimes sat. We met a guy on a boat called Stingo, A whiz he was with computer thingos. It was here that the die was cast, My turn to go to the top of the mast. I did not cry or hurl or scream, Maybe it was only a dream. The view from there, I cannot describe. Maybe next time I’ll open my eyes. From Fortaleza we planned our route To Trinidad or there about. We made good time when the winds did blow, Other times we went quite slow. Had good fishing along the way, Caught eight tuna in just one day. Then finally the day had come, We’d sailed 5000 miles and some. Our journey’s end, could it really be? Had we sailed across the Atlantic sea.? As I stepped ashore in Trinidad, Proud of myself and a little sad That this great adventure was over and done, Yet I knew we’d just begun. Cruising on Tee Time, our catamaran That Admiral built for us by hand. |
Before I was a cruiser (that
would be last year), I
spent 30 years as an
library media specialist in
an elementary school.
I have always enjoyed the
writing style of Dr. Seuss. .
So I thought I'd give it a try.
This poem is dedicated to
my good friend, Deb
Hawes, in Woodland Park,
CO. She knows why.
would be last year), I
spent 30 years as an
library media specialist in
an elementary school.
I have always enjoyed the
writing style of Dr. Seuss. .
So I thought I'd give it a try.
This poem is dedicated to
my good friend, Deb
Hawes, in Woodland Park,
CO. She knows why.