The Cursed Mason’s Odyssey
By Kevin McCagh, Retired SIU Electrician
I was a cursed mason, struck down from a tower
Reduced to a refugee as my words lost all power
All I could utter was a meaningless babble
So, I ran and I ran, hiding and living amongst the rabble
No human could fathom what I was trying to say
I couldn’t find even one, though I searched night and day
First, I bewildered; then I was frightening,
running everyone off like children from lightning
I was many years a drifter, but then I got the notion
to try to find a life as a Seaman on the ocean
The road was rocky and storms tossed the sea
Rocks fell from above and rogue waves broke upon me
I felt terribly cursed for a long time to be
until those mountain-size waves made a Seaman of me
Somewhere between Bangkok, Calcutta, and The Zuiderzee
my sadness, madness, and worries ceased to worry me
If they didn’t fall overboard and drown in the sea
I bequeath them all to my erstwhile friends and family
The years, not the miles, severed our ties
That and the worst – a trusted friend’s lies
Affections dried up like a Dead Sea drought
Whenever I called, friends and family were out
It “shivers their timbers,” the man that I am
Well, like Popeye said, “I yam what I yam.”
And that’s the way things are likely to stay
Though I can’t say I’m sad that they’ve all gone away
I never met a man or a woman like me
I’m different from 99% of the people I see
My Father once wrote that to me in a letter
I kind of knew it, but he knew it better
I’ll go down with the ship if a storm gets too bad
but not without that letter from my dad
He gave me “a pass,” a pass to be different
It’s helped me to see that my life’s been well spent
My current affliction is a fluency of tongues
And just as before, no one knows even one
No one will ever understand what I say,
because thousands of voices scare them away
I was blessed at birth under a wandering star
Only Seamen and Explorers get to roam so far
Prouder of my ancient seagoing career, I couldn’t possibly be
I’m a proud and grateful family member of the Brotherhood
of the Sea
I wish I could thank countless souls I met along the way
Their kindness and their influence are with me still today
I am a conglomerate of all of the people I’ve met
And all of the places I’ve seen
That may not impress others, but I think it’s keen
My long journey has ended and I’ve won my prize!
Though few will see that through “normal” eyes
The happiness I found doesn’t rest on winning or losing
I’ve learned that it rests in the perspective of my choosing
My curse was not a curse at all
God was smiling on me when he caused me to fall
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