the long boat

"when her boat snapped loose
from its mooring, under
the screaking of the gulls,
she tried at first to wave
to her dear ones on shore,
but in the rolling fog
they had already lost their faces.
too tired even to choose
between jumping and calling,
somehow she felt absolved and free
of her burdens, those mottoes
stamped on her name-tag:
conscience, ambition, and all
that caring.
she was content to lie down
with the family ghosts
in the slop of her cradle,
buffeted by the storm,
endlessly drifting.
peace! peace!
to be rocked by the infinite!
as if it didn't matter
which way was home;
as if she didn't know
she loved the earth so much
she wanted to stay forever."

by: stanley kunitz
adapted by: jessa walters
(you know, the usual: "she" replacing "he")