Westering Home

My ship is not canty,

nor registered in Islay.

My sails are patched and wrinkled,

slack before the strongest gale.

This voyage is nearer ending

than setting sail.

I’ve seen Cathay

under yellow moons

and sailed the same seas as Sinbad.

I’ve seen the heavenly dancers

over the Barents, the Baltic

and off Benbecula.

I’ve seen things

I couldn’t believe,

though I’ve never seen home.

But when the anchor’s dropped

and the final berth is reached,

the port of last call

will be a kind of home

and a place of final rest.

Footnote: "Canty" means neat or trim in Scots dialect.