I was captain of a ship
and you were my first mate.
We had built the ship together
with the strongest of materials,
sturdy but flexible
and seemingly indestructible.
For years we steered through storms,
conquered daunting waves,
and maneuvered through icebergs,
seemingly invincible.
But eventually a crack emerged, unnoticed.
It continued to grow as we battled the raging sea,
exposing our vulnerabilities until we met a great hurricane.
The merciless ocean ripped the ship apart.
The angry waves washed you away and set me adrift
on the last piece of our ship I could hold.
I drifted further and further away until I was out of the storm
but left in the doldrums,
floating aimlessly but stagnant.
My heart became starved of hope as the sun fried my brain into delirium
and my memory of you and who I was began to fade.
My fingers soon grew too weak as I let go of our broken ship
and succumbed to the dark depths of the sea.
Yet, I did not sink.
I continued to float in a watery purgatory,
until I finally caught glimpse of an island.
What a beautiful sight for a withered hungry soul.
I used the last of my strength to swim towards the island,
leaving behind the memory of our ship,
blinded by white sun and overtaken by my starvation.
I reached the island with hope
that I could finally nourish the emptiness inside me.
There I found shelter and warmth,
but soon it became apparent that there was no food or water.
The island could not give what it did not have,
so I continued to starve.
So I sat on the beach, forlorn,
naked and stripped of all dignity,
festering in my own filth,
indiscernible from the rotting beach-wood on the shore,
but then I heard a familiar voice.
Instantly my heart ached as I turned and looked up with watery burning eyes
and saw you, my first mate.
Your tired eyes met mine, the eyes of a broken soul yet still the eyes you knew.
You knelt down and gently wiped the sandy grime from my face.
Though I was unrecognizable, weather-beaten and emaciated,
you could still see me.
With your touch, the memory of who I was came flooding back,
and I swiftly stood up tall next you.
Our ship was no longer lost,
because it was not made of wood or any other material,
for I am the base and you are my sails
and together we will conquer every storm.
