The Mariners Rhyme

As humans we live with the constant presumption of dominion. We believe that we own the world, that it belongs to us, that we have it under our firm control. But the sailor knows all too well the fallacy of this view. The sailor sits by his tiller, waiting and watching. He knows he isn’t sovereign of earth and sky, any more than the fish in the sea or the birds in the air. He responds to the subtle shiftings of the wind, the imperceptible ebbing of the tide. He changes course. He trims his sheets. He sails.

The hurricane, the typhoon, the tsunami, the sudden squall – they are all sharp reminders of the puniness of man when measured against the momentous forces of nature. We aren’t in total charge of our fate. We are subject to death, accident, and disease; we can, without warning, lose love, work, home. An unseen hand can rise at any moment from an unexpected quadrant of the compass and strike us down.