The Dark, Insistent Waves by Colette Tennant

The sign said, Renaissance warship.
I read Renaissance worship.
My mistake I suppose
except I’ve seen a caravel –
its white sails riding high and white,
filled by a sky blue as forgiveness.
Lanterns lit below deck,
each one a prayer candle
against the dark, insistent waves.
Wooden hull sweet and round
as confession.
Even the cannon’s report
a canticle of broad-shouldered men
chanting – We’ll do anything.

About the Poet:

Colette Tennant has two poetry collections: Commotion of Wings (2010) and Eden and After (2015), as well as the commentary Religion in the Handmaid’s Tale: a brief guide (2019). Her poem “Rehearsals” was awarded third by Billy Collins in the 2019 Fish Publishing International Writing Contest. Most recently, her poem was accepted by Eavan Boland for Poetry Ireland Review’s Issue 129. Her poems have appeared in Rattle, Prairie Schooner, Southern Poetry Review, and others.