Ode to a Sweet-Voiced Lady

We met by chance upon a ship of fools,
lost far at sea.
I boarded with no time for naval rules,
took pot shots at the stern quite merrily.
I did not care about the idle crew
nor for the sails, the sextant nor the mast,
ignored our longitude upon the chart.
Then gradually my eyes drifted to you.
Just then, you sang with beauty unsurpassed,
a tune that matched the tempo of my heart.

Magnanimous, I gave my gift of love.
You smiled at that.
I saw I took a falcon for a dove
just as this lovesick mouse is not a cat.
So vainly now, I try to sing your song.
My pitch is off but wearily I try
to let you hear the things I have in me.
I think I strike a chord. Perhaps I’m wrong
or is the lonely first of my sad cry
unmet by third or fifth in harmony?

The ship sails on and I shall stay aboard
for you alone
in hope I’ll learn the secrets of that chord
that sounds within your heart and funny bone,
that lets you take the mask from your sweet face
and look me in the eye, tender and true,
to sing a song of love just meant for me.
For then, this ship might find a berthing place
and I could sing a song just meant for you.
We’d sing them both in perfect harmony.