Sailing

As a professional writing major, I had to take courses in various styles of writing. Journalism, creative non-fiction, public relations and grant writing were my favorite. Creative writing not so much. I struggled with writing poems and short stories. The common theme across my creative writing assignments was usually sailing though.

Sailing was such an important part of my life during my teen and college years. This summer I've really been thinking about it a lot and wishing I had a boat or even just the time to sail more. 

I wrote this poem about sailing in my junior year creative writing class. It was published in the college literary journal. Takes me right about to that classroom but more importantly right back to that beautiful lake...

Sailing

The white, fiberglass boat propels slowly over the waves,

as the summer breeze softly luffs the sail.

The cool lake water splashes my bare arm.

I can see the islands in the distance,

Kelley's, Put-in-Bay and Mouse,

becoming closer as I delve in the vast expanses of Erie.

Powerboats speed by ignoring the the right-of-way rules,

creating powerful waives to propel my boat off course.

I turn the boat into the wind to take a break.

Laying on the bow of the boat,

I soak in the warm summer sunshine.

This is my escape from reality,

where I can just relax and ponder my thoughts.

No work, no school, no interruptions,

just the beautiful tranquility of the lake.

The poem was originally formatted to look like a sailboat.