A Goodbye from the 2023 Crew

St. Croix, USVI

November 26, 2023

Ship’s Log written by 2023 AmeriCorps Deckhand Educator Ashley Showalter

How do you say goodbye

to a tall ship that has been your home for the past year?

Carried you in her arms across the sea,

and placed you in cradles of safe harbors?

How do you say goodbye

to a mother you’ve cursed

and come to crying for comfort

in those long watches of the night?

How do you say goodbye

to a friend with whom you’ve laughed your sides sore

And spent hours lovingly patching up-

Smoothing her roughed grain,

stitching a sail, pouring pitch back into her veins.

How do you let her go?

The child you put to bed,

the sails you furled,

the charts you stowed.

The last entry in that storied log book.

How do I say goodbye?