When I was nine or ten
we had a boat
nothing fancy
maybe fifteen sixteen feet
a mainsail and a jib
I don't remember
sailing in it
but I do remember
working with my uncle Hal
at start of summer
we'd get the boat out
turn it over
scrape the paint
where it had flaked
and set about
caulking the seams
with oakum fiber
lengths of rough yarn
that smelled deliciously
of pine tar
seams filled
we'd work in caulking compound
and once dry
we'd paint the hull
as I recall
even with all this
the boat would leak
so that we kept a coffee can
on board for bailing
but the joy I felt
though scarcely noted
was working with my hands
alongside this beloved
uncle who seemed happy
to share in the work
a man that I admired
for his easy way with tools
his knowing how to fix
most anything
and how to make
a boat shipshape
ready to sail
around the world
or at least across
the mile wide tidal
pond we claimed
as our lagoon
and back