The Prudent Sailor: A Sonnet by Selma Martin

The Prudent Sailor: A Sonnet by Selma Martin

None but yourself can pave the way for you
None can prepare you for all the tempests
You must fit your boat–well-angled sail through
Under fine blue skies and waters freshest

If on your journey, you chance on a mate
Your boatload will need mindful adjusting
To make a space for betiding postdate
And to staunch the waves of future fussing

I pray prudence helps keep your rudder sane
May the feel of the tiller guide your sails
Nothing in this life is ever in vain
You’re a sailor giving birth to travails!

Go with the wind, do the work it entails
Let the universe protect the details.

© Selma

Photo credits: Openverse. Downloaded by Selma.

Author’s Bio

Selma Martin is a retired English teacher with 20 years of experience teaching children ESL. She believes in people’s goodness and in finding balance in simple living. She lives in Japan with her husband of 35 years. In 2018, Selma participated in a networking course whose final lesson was to publish a story on Amazon. She completed the course and self-published her short story, Wanted: Husband/Handyman, in 2019, and later, collaborating with peers from that course, she published Wanted: Husband/Handyman in Once Upon A Story: A Short Fiction Anthology. Selma has published stories on Medium for many years, in MasticadoresUSA, The Poetorium At Starlight, Short Fiction Break, Lit eZine, and Spillwords. In July 2023, she published her debut poetry collection, In the Shadow of Rainbows (Experiments in Fiction). You can find Selma as selmawrites on Instagram and Twitter, and on her website, selmamartin.com. 

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