Last Sail

Motor out from the dock, cross the little bay
Air is cold, just a few boats in the water
Leaves mostly gone, the trees show graceful branches
It’s a long, narrow lake, like a fjord

Turn into the wind, kill the sputtering outboard
The noisy old clunker wont last
Clouds and sun, hills gray-brown, water blue
The lake is beautiful, the silence is, too

Raise the main, fall off to a reach
She wakes and begins to heel gently
Set the jib, sheet home and she prances
Like a horse let out of the barn

She’s an old, old boat and small
But her brand new set of sails
Is bringing her back to her youth
She’s pretty, and lively, and fast

There is another sail out down the lake
Maybe two miles, maybe three
Maybe a race, maybe just conversation
With a kindred spirit as we pass - maybe both

My old dog settles down with a grunt
And I settle down with a smile
Close my eyes, feel the wind, feel the water
Feel the tiller, feel the life of my boat