Why did you Come? Why did you Stay?
(Questions asked of Quarr Abbey Monks)
Because I'm lost inside
the ferry's heartbeat.
Because the sea
reminds me
of my father's eyes.
Because I'm returning
to where my baby heart
was set in motion.
Because the sea balances
the ferry in the palm of its hand,
carries me, its trembling cargo,
from here to there.
Because I know now
it's wrong to step outside
during the hours of darkness.
It's wrong to throw lit matches
over the side of the deck.
Because when the time comes
I will do as I'm told: locate
the life jacket's whistle,
and blow.
I stay because I no longer want to go.
I stay because each day is better
than the last.
Maggie Sawkins lives in Portsmouth and delivers creative writing projects in community settings. Her live literature production "Zones of Avoidance" won the 2013 Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry. Her most recent poetry collection, Many Skies Have Fallen, is published by Wild Mouse Press. You can find her here: www.hookedonwords.me.