Waiting For God's Wind

‘You can rest for now, lads,’ the captain said.

‘We may be here a while. We’re waiting on the wind.’

But, as the poet watched, not all the crew

Could quite relax ashore. 

Whilst some stepped down to the beach,

Lay in the sand, strung hammocks between trees,

Stopped in taverns, explored markets,

Read, played, 

Another group remained aboard.

Polishing, tidying, cleaning, training.

But the ship was already polished, tidy and clean.

And the men were well-drilled, knowledgeable and skilful.

‘Why are they working?’ the poet asked.

The captain smiled, ‘It’s all they know,

It’s all they’ve done. It’s all that kept us afloat

These last five years.’

‘So why are they working?’ the poet asked.

The captain smiled, ‘It’s all they know,

It’s all they’ve done. Without their working,

They don’t know who they are.’ 

‘But why are they working?’ the poet asked.

The captain paused, and thought.

‘Because they don’t know the wind we’re waiting for.

It’s a different kind of wind.’ 

‘Why don’t they know?’ the poet asked.

The captain sighed, ‘To get us here, they made the wind,

But for where we go now

A different wind must blow.’ 

The night wore on and the crew didn’t stop.

The poet worried and crossed the deck.

‘Why don’t you stop?’ he asked the crew.

‘We can’t stop,’ they said, tired.

‘Why can’t you stop?’ he asked the crew.

‘If we stop, who are we?’ they said, worn down.

‘What do you mean?’ he asked the crew.

‘If we stop, what are we worth?’ they said, exhausted.

‘If you don’t stop, what will become of you?’

‘If we stop, how will the ship sail?’ 

The heart of the poet

Went out to the men.

‘Captain,’ he said. ‘Won’t you help them?

They won’t stop. They won’t rest.’ 

‘I’ve told them the truth,’ said the captain.

‘We don’t need their wind any more.

For where we go,

A different wind must blow.’

‘But without their wind, who are they?’ asked the poet.

‘And how will the ship sail?’

‘The ship will sail on winds of trust,’ the captain said.

‘On winds of faith, on winds of love.’

‘Then what of the crew?’ the poet asked.

‘What of the crew?’ the captain said.

‘Who are they, without their wind?’ the poet replied.

‘Ah,’ the captain said.

‘I see.’

‘Gather round, lads,’ the captain said.

‘I need to say some words.’

‘We know the words,’ the crewmen said,

All eyes downcast, all voices sad.

‘For where we go now,

A different wind must blow.

Why need you us, with winds of trust,

And winds of faith, and winds of love?’

‘Ah, lads. My lads,’ the captain said. 

‘That’s why you must rest.

You, my lads, you brought us here.

And soon we’ll sail on winds of trust,

On winds of faith, on winds of love.

‘And then, my lads,’ the captain said.

‘Oh then, my lads, we’ll need you.

Without your skill, without your strength,

Without your wisdom, the ship will fail.’

‘For these winds must be ridden,’ the captain said.

‘With courage and guile, with faith and love,’

And I know no men, my lads,

Who could ride the winds like you.’

‘But until we leave,’ the captain said.

‘It’s time to rest, it’s time to go ashore.’

‘You’ll leave us behind!’ the men said.

‘You don’t need us anymore.’

‘Ah, lads. Ah, lads,’ the captain said,

And tears stung his eyes.

‘You’ve done the work of a thousand men

And I’ll never leave you behind.’

‘Just bring the love for this ship of ours,

And bring the faith and trust in me.

We’ll ride the seas, you and me,

On the next, great adventure.’

The poet watched as the men relaxed.

They put down their work and saw the stars

And the sand, and the sea, and the taverns,

And the markets and the birds and the beauty.

‘Thank you, captain,’ the poet said.

‘My heart is now at rest.’

‘Thank you, poet,’ the captain said,

‘With all my heart, for I nearly lost them.’

‘But now they know,’ the captain said.

‘We’ll need them soon, the ship and I,

For journeys new and journeys long,

For journeys far and wide.’

‘And me, captain?’ the poet asked.

‘You too, my friend,’ the captain said.

‘For wait and see, my soul, my friend,

What changes when the wind comes.’

‘For all you’ve seen, my poet friend,’

The captain said, bright eyes alive,

‘Will be as nothing to the next adventure,

On winds of trust, on winds of faith, on winds of love.’

‘But who will make these winds,’ the poet said,

‘Now the men are standing down?’

‘God will, my friend,’ The captain answered.

‘Just wait,’ he said, ‘My poet friend,

To see us ride God’s wind.’

‘How long do we wait?’ the poet asked.

‘And when will it come, and what if it doesn’t?’

‘That’s why we wait,’ the captain said.

‘To give him trust and faith and love.’

‘Believe, my friend,’ the captain said.

‘Believe in this and you will see

The sights of heaven as we sail the seas

The happenings of years will pass in days

As we ride the waves

With God’s wind in our sails.’

—

I don’t write poetry very often, and I share it even less.

This piece sits in partnership with a short article I wrote around the same time: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/waiting-next-stage-journey-robbie-swale/

And if you like my poetry, you might like this short poem, which was also the first ‘article’ I ever published on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/poem-life-robbie-swale/