The Act of Untying

I peruse my pictures, thousands of them
in little squares across your screen,
a history book of notions and images
that caught my eye, often without understanding
why.

There are boats. Lots of boats.
Fishing boats. Ships, Sailboats.
and more than anything, small rowboats
tied demurely to docks and walls,
waiting.

I would be embarrassed to tell you
how often I wanted to be a boat thief,
to unmoor these crafts that belong
to someone else’s dreams,
and make my way to open water,
to transform them from potential, to voyage
by the simple act of untying.