To break the winter sea

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The sea was calm, I can still see it. We had left San Francisco two days ago. The captain said, »Don’t look at the water for too long.« It reflected the sun, and my eyes hurt. I looked out for a while and time passed, the light was digging its way through the surface. It was emanating, but didn’t lose its path. No clouds, no birds and no land.
I looked at the orange Sir Williams gave me that morning. It’s not just an orange, we’re on a ship, he said. Without the stuff from home, you’re dead. »Do you understand, Private? Take it«, he said.
To me, it was just an orange. Sweet, bitter and muddy.
He was a rich man and he liked talking with the sailors and their wives. When I saw him he was usually reading or speaking.
»Now, tell me. What is an unhappy man like you doing here, Private?«
He would be back with more fruits and questions the next morning.
»I’m here to eat this orange and spend time with you, Sir Williams.«
He laughed.
What did he want? To know the reason for my journey, or to eat fruits with me? I thought about eating it, or throwing it into the blue, and put it back into my pocket.

bubblegum paper on Ariel Sym

To break the winter sea