Another Day

Wedged in behind the table, on the floor
In a damp blanket: it's Jack's turn to steer,
My turn to sleep. Just under my left ear
The keel thumps water - or the Florida shore?
The mast tries to unstep itself - I'm curled
Beside its stormy knowledge like a snake.

The moon's framed in a hatch when I awake:
God! I'm in outer space, and that's the world . . .

Jack's calling: he's seen dolphins in the air,
Rolling down mountain-waves. Still wet, I climb
The oily steps into another time:
The hemisphere's so bright! And the wind fair . . .

High on the bucking boat, I laugh at the sun,
My equal: 'Sol! Dear Jewish relative,
So glad to see you' - and as glad to live
As if I were fifteen, not fifty-one.
...