Passages

As we wander through this world, our lives are in a constant state of transition. Sometimes it may be subtle or imperceptible, like the hands of a clock, but we are all in motion … moving, growing, becoming. Perhaps that process seems more pronounced as this is the season of graduation. At this very moment, many dear friends are sharing the annual ritual of commencement at my own high school alma mater, where I am well-acquainted with several of those graduating today. In honor of those graduates I offer the following poem, which was written as I sat through several such ceremonies over the recent years. My take on the subject is the familiar metaphor of embarking upon an ocean voyage, a fitting perspective for this particular juncture in life. I add, as a point of information, that today marks a year and a half since my father’s passing at the end of 2003. This leaves me a little pensive, as I consider how the course of my own voyage has fared during these last difficult eighteen months. Whatever passage may lay ahead, my wish for you today is fine weather, fair winds and smooth sailing. May ever your course be true.

Passages
Life is filled with passages
Which lead from shore to shore
To islands and to continents
Where we’ve not been before
What the future holds for us
In those ports which lie ahead
Is difficult to see from here
Regardless what is said
However, if your training
Is complete and you prepare
For your passage, and the adventure
Which awaits us all out there
Then your journey, though difficult
Can be a fruitful and wondrous one
As you cross the trackless seas of life
From the rising to setting sun
Each passage begins with departures
When we cast off from the quay
Bidding farewell to things familiar
And choosing to sail away
Yet, we know at journey’s end
Across the expanse of blue
Shrouded in mists of the future
There are landfalls waiting for you
Today, as you stand upon the decks
With the halyards poised in hand
Preparing to leave the harbor’s safety
And bid your adieu to the land
Remember fondly what lies behind
In ports you have thus far known
But boldly turn and canvas raise
Striking out for coasts of your own
Though tempests may besiege you
Before your passage is through
May you sail courageously onward
And may ever your course be true
By Frank Carpenter ©