Picture This-The Ship

On By Robert DoyleIn Fiction

Picture this: You are on a pier, walking towards your past..

Slowly he made his way towards the pier.  A lifetime of being at sea brought with it aches and pains throughout his body. All he wanted now was to see the ship. His ship. The ship he had sailed on for years. Through stormy seas and snow and ice to calm oceans in tropical waters the ship had weathered it all. He thought of the men he had served with through the years, salty old dogs like him who had signed up for adventure and then realized it was really a glorious hell they were all a part of. He thought of the exotic ports of call he had seen with this ship-Hong Kong, Bombay, Cape Town, Santiago. He thought about how times changed and gradually people stopped using old ships like this, replaced by more modern and streamlined vessels. Oh he tried working those alright, but they were more of a machine. His ship was alive, the way it moved. The way it sounded, creaking and groaning like his old body did now. Suddenly he was standing in front of her again even though she was trapped within the concrete and steel of the pier like a prisoner. It made him sad to think that is how people now would remember her. An artifact, a memento of a by-gone era. After one last look, he slowly turned around and made his way back towards the street. Who would remember the ship the way she was? For that matter, who would remember him now?

This was inspired by The Thought Card’s  Picture This Challenge. You can find out more about the challenge here

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All Photographs By Robert P. Doyle

 

 

 

14 thoughts on “Picture This-The Ship”

    1. Thanks so much Tasha. I have only been sailing a handful of times in my life but I would like to try it again some day and really learn about it. As I said to Danielle on her page, this is one of my favorite things in the city-this old ship called the Peking at the South Street Seaport. My very first blog I wrote almost two years ago was about it, and I have been wanting to do something on it again for some time, so I’m thankful to The Thought Card for creating this Photo Challenge.

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      1. That’s quite fascinating you should definitely follow your passions…carve out some time to go sailing and you’ll be so glad that you did. Maybe a date for you and your wife?! How cool would that be? Be sure to make it as romantic as possible!! I’m not sure how fun sailing is in cold weather but you may have to wait unless you travel to a warmer coast.

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      2. Yes, everything has been autobiographical or history based and all related to me in some ways. I told someone that This was an attempt to get out of my safe zone of writing. Perhaps I will try it again. Thanks as always!

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  4. This is a gorgeous story Robert. The imagery, the emotions…the ship trapped in the concrete and steel of the pier like the old man seems now relegated to the concrete and steel of the city. Wonderful!

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    1. Thanks very much. My first challenge, my first fiction writing since college, 25 years ago at least! I’m happy people seem to be liking it and that I stepped outside the comfort zone of my regular blogs. Appreciate the comment!

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