Donald Kennison

All is illustration when an Egyptian ship
Passes by with the kings of Egypt
You noticed her high bow and the inveterate boat
And the distinguished guests oh now too small
The king is dead but not the tiny models
They were complete in every detail
And suppose we had a soul and travelled
That decisive stream and followed in foamy wake
With seashells in our ears beyond the jetty
The scissor has cut the sail and the Nile
We are dropping in the mist who love the snakes
And features of the hull and how to make them
History is complete but not the sailing ship
We are lost, like pen knives and scissors in a breeze

David Shapiro, 1984