Rob Harle #23 Notorious

Rob Harle #23 Notorious

Hove To “Notorious”!

had I slipped through a time warp?

I felt uneasy, anxious;

the black Caravel lay at anchor

circa sixteenth century

gently circling the tide.

This was Iluka Bay

circa twenty first century;

I stood wide-eyed

as if a lost ghost had materialised,

past lives flashed before me.

Ten years in the crafting,

built from recycled timber

by a man and his wife,

gallons of tar to seal her hull

gallons of rum to whet their souls;

sailed from Melbourne

across an oily ancient sea

lying at peace in Iluka Bay.

Another ration of rum I order

fixated on a Black Pearl,

I’m marooned at Sedgers Reef pub,

“Notorious” taunts me;

my mind spinning with questions

my heart revealing secrets,

I’d sailed these ships before

many centuries ago!