The Ship of Theseus

The Ship of Theseus

Nathaniel A. Schmidt

I’ve always been my own ship, a trireme
with unique dimensions and characteristics
conceived in the Shipwright’s infinite mind;
a vessel you could pick out from the fleet,
my form different from the adventurous Argos
or the dark-hulled warship of Achilles.

Within the drydock of my homeland’s shore
parental craftsmen constructed my shape
to the fullest understanding of its design,
using the finest lumber and linen
at their disposal, doing the best they knew how
to birth into calm seas their pride and joy,

and since I set sail from this childhood harbor
uncharted waves tossed my prow over time,
gale storms, sirens, clashes with other ships,
to redirect my course, my spars battered or snapped
and in need of repair, replaced in safe-havens
with studier woods or what was on hand –

until my entire being was reborn.
Wise sailors, met later in life, see this as good,
naming me an “eclectic dependable ship,”
but for my original crew, dear friends,
climbing my rigging proves a frustration
“No more do you handle like you once did.”

Although my silhouette on the water
remains the same, inky blue, I have changed
like the tide on its coast that will surge with new surf,
grieving some from my port of origin
who miss what was lost, but we have no means to go back
so I will continue until I sink –

my substance there turning to memory.

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Nathaniel A. Schmidt
Poet & Minister

Nathaniel is an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church and serves as a hospice and hospital chaplain. He holds degrees from Calvin Theological Seminary, Calvin University, and the University of Illinois Springfield. His newest collection of poems, Transfiguring, is available from Wipf & Stock, as is his first collection, An Evensong. He lives with his librarian wife, Lydia, and their daughter in southwest Michigan, meaning life is a perpetual story time.

Painting by Anton Melbye (Danish, 1818-1875)