An unfinished journey

Did I live too much in fantasy?
I ask myself, as I downsize into
a two-room apartment, sifting through
the flotsam and jetsam of my life for
remnants to sustain me.  I am like a sea
in which boats floated, each different
in time, shape, and form, and each containing
evidence of conviction and passion. 
 
I have relics still, paintings and doves, books
and journals, wood carvings and pottery,
photographs and poetry—all of which
recall what is gone to memory.  The sea
of me is surrounded by the woods
of childhood’s imaginings and today’s forest.
In between, my ministry of teaching took
different forms. Should I tell you about each boat?    
 
Let’s focus instead on an ever deepening sea—
a relationship with the larger spirit in the universe.
On peace activism and the workings of peace
that survive despite wars.  I am grateful for spirit. 
I am grateful for openings which always brought
new opportunity.  Grateful for writing to think
and thinking to write.  Grateful for friends in each
boat.  Grateful for the sea and the ocean that is.

For my prompt "The Journey" at What's Going On? 

My blog poems are rough drafts.

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© 2026 Susan L. Chast