SONNET-20 ( TALE OF A SWALLOW :: ACROSTIC )

To see that swallow in the sky I peep

And count my shallow breaths, seeking peace in

Loneliness-hollow like this ocean, deep.

Estranged insides burn of a pirate's sin.



On and on I sail; swallow leaves his nest.

Fear of a moment when its beats will cease:

A heart beneath a swallow branded chest.

Swallow does come back; miles to home decrease.



When spring steps in with flowers in those trees

And dry leaves on that dirty dusty road

Leading to my shack, I do sleep with ease-

Lonesome my death bed, ocean my abode.



Over oceans my soul will linger on,

Whether I come back or forever gone.







NOTE:

Sighting of swallows in the sky is believed to be a good omen among sailors. When swallows are sighted in the sky, sailors become hopeful that there may be an island nearby. Here the old pirate peeps for a glimpse of a swallow in the sky from his death bed, longing for his home. Again, sailors usually make swallow tattoos on their chests on covering every five thousand nautical miles. Here the sailor's swallow branded chest signifies his old age and experience.



Swallows usually hover in the sky alone. They travel far and wide in the realms of the vast blankness. But wherever the go, they do come back to their nests before spring, they always come back unless they die during their long journey back home. Here the sailor, himself, is like a swallow. He's coming back home during the onset of spring, but does he reach home alive??? Is a shack in the countryside his home or the vast oceans??? Does a swallow enjoy his comfort in his nest or his loneliness in the vast skies??? I think, I am seeking those answers...