Petals in the water

I'm sailing on this ship
adrift, hollow with cargo
on this lonely broken ocean
a river of petals in tow

The edge of despair
my given destination
unless some word or charity
signals my salvation


I pace these dusty decks
yearning for a sign
but the rudder's locked, the petals tossed
never will you be mine


Your face surrounds me
in a blind man's sight
or shimmering in the water;
the thought alone
my companion through this night


The pit gapes ever nearer
and stoically I stand
among the water-hushed cries of timber
the petals slip through my hand