DRAKE PASSAGE

Sailing south through the passage of Drake
Leaving level seas that dwindle in our wake

Confronting a turbulent disturbance of meter high swells
Portending the chiming of yet larger cacophonous bells

As we wend our way on this liquid journey of fractal intensity
Increasing volumes increasing my humility in the face of a growing majesty

I feel as a grain of sand lying upon a placid and tranquil beach
As the ocean grows, and grows, and grows and consumes all within its reach

These undulating mountains of cobalt blue with white foam on their crest
Ten meters high now and swelling, they challenge my fear, put to the test

An immense intensity flowing and growing and reforming and forming
And tweaking my adrenaline on the edge of overwhelming my reasoning, worming

Its way into and triggering in me a state of panic, but then,

                                                                                                                                                  but then, awe.

Suddenly, a shaft of light through a rending of clouds, I saw

An empress of kumatage forming a shimmering sheet of liquid steel
Shining a beacon that breaks the spell of my fear with a beauty beyond unreal.

— R.L. Dubé