I nearly drowned, this year gone by
A feeble, frightful way to die
The waves too rough, the tide too strong
A frolic in the surf gone wrong
The year itself was full and bright
(There is no shadow without light):
My lovely daughter turned eighteen
My nephew earned the keys to life
My work took flight on silver screen
The year was peaceful, without strife
We nearly drowned, my love and I
Beneath that sunny summer sky
Dragged out to sea, the undertow
We feared it was our time to go
The other days were amply spent
On journeys, near and far, we went:
From pyramids and jungles green
To mirrored lakes and canyon walls
From mountains, caves and crystal streams
To crescent sands and gothic halls
We nearly drowned, first of July
With no regrets and no goodbye
The ocean made its power known
(At least we’d not have died alone)
The life we live is ebb and flow
The winters come, the summers go:
At times, the world is fresh and new
Love buds and blooms and casts its spell
At times, we barely make it through
We ache, we breathe, we live to tell
I nearly drowned, this year gone by
There are no rhymes or reasons why
But I’m still here, still in the mix
Alive and well at forty-six
Wayne Visser © 2017
Book
Life in Transit: Favourite Travel & Tribute Poems
This creative collection, now in its 2nd edition, brings together travel and tribute poems by Wayne Visser. The anthology pays tribute to the likes of Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Barack Obama, Antoni Gaudí & Leonardo da Vinci, and reflects on travels ranging from China and South Africa to Ecuador and Russia. Life is lived in the in-between / In transit / Between coming and going / Between staying and moving on / Between here and there / And what we call home / What we call settled or contented / Is merely a resting place / A station for refuelling / A nexus for reconnecting / A junction for changing direction. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.
