The Most Famous Ship

I rise

from the ashes, a phoenix

of modernism and design

to take my place among the gods

the world bowing to me

tall, I stand

abundant and unyielding

with all the world to conquer

amidst revelry and praise

flow now before me

great ocean of expectation

profound as the sky above our heads

dark as the pupils

of the eyes that stare in wonder

there is a difference

I have come to find

between the praises they

sing to my face

and the maladies they

whisper in the comfort of home

but, there, breaking bottles across

the bow, all is joyful reverence

all is pomp and praise

though in the heart there is hope

that I sink, crashing and burning

when my usefulness runs out

still I rise, a trophyless champion

green as spring, shining

a prophesied salvation

they say I’ll save the world

they tell me it’s inside of me

and if I succeed,

they’ll tremble at my name

they’ll hold me in regard

high as the heavens

for months, at least

but if I fail

good lord, if I fail

infamy

they will know my name for centuries

and the fingers they will point

at the hands laid upon me

at the flaws in my design

and it will not be for me

but for the new-glaring inadequacy

of someone else

someone more responsible

so

maybe

I should crash and burn

and be buried in the deep

still heroic, still a hero

and live forever