Poem: The listing freighter in the harbor at Kato Zakris, Crete

Down the hill from the ruins
Of the Minoan palace at Kato Zakris
A battered and rusting old freighter showed up

Six months ago,
With a Pakistani crew
And flying the Egyptian flag.

None of the locals knows
Quite what went wrong.
They do know the ship is still here,

Anchored 30 meters offshore,
Rusting and listing in the harbor,
Waiting for indeterminate repairs

After running into some nebulous “trouble.”
So they parked her, where she sits today,
To the locals’ chagrin,

Waiting for Euros, or parts, or a new owner.
No one quite seems to know.
There may or may not be a crew on board

As she slowly rusts away
And begins listing even more.
Someone will either show up with cash and parts,

Or the crew will slowly drift away
And they will eventually tow it out
And scuttle it in the Aegean.

My waiter told me “It was interesting
The first day, after that it’s a scar
We hope goes away soon.”
---o0o---