Columbus Whispering (NAPOWRIMO 2015 #12)

In quarters, no one dare disturb

the great white captain conquistador:

all hands for sailing, all feet scrubbing

for god, for gold, and for glory;

what man Columbus was all will tell

of travel, of dominance,

of power, of penance,

and of race, of greed, or of nation vowing,

vying for the aquatic crown;

but in quiet snores overheard

at the door, or of his long johns

strewn on the chair, or of his armor

rusty and mudded and bloody and dead

shined by the toothless boy,

is Columbus the man

sailing no explored oceans

for no deity but Poseidon

no coin but Davy Jones’

and no love but La Luna,

smiling on the sea