Sleep

I am 70
On a cruise
Ship wandering
About at 3 AM unable
To sleep not wanting to turn
On a light to read which would
Wake my cabin partner who
Is exhausted by her busy
Day so I walk each of
The decks observe
The cleaning in
Progress busy
People one
Never can
See days
But who
Work
At night
Vacuuming
Dusting and all
The maintenance
Required each night
On a great cruise ship
At sea but I realize many
Of the crew never emerge
From their lower decks unseen
By passengers but always busy.
Only once in the several dozens of
Cruises I have been on have I had
The chance to see all these near
Invisible crew come up to the
Outside decks to stand by
The passengers staring
Silently at the Statue
Of Liberty in New
York harbor eyes
Wide as she
Welcomes
Them to
America
The tired
The poor the
Huddled masses
Yearning to be free
They know this promise
By heart and then they slip
Silently away back to their jobs
Mostly out of sight mulling over the
Promise of America which in some
Cases is fulfilled and in others
Not so much while for some
Home is too precious to
Leave for a life a lot
Like the one crew
Live below out of
Sight of those
Who think a
Building is
Empty at
Night or
Streets
Clean
All by them
Selves like city
Parks immaculate
By divine conception.
The ship breaks the waves
But never passengers’ illusions
About what happens on a
Cruise each night and
Each day below in
A much noisier
World less
Wood or
Plastic
More
Steel
Steam
Stamina
Seething
Relationships
Not seen to exist
Except in the eyes
Of crew glimpsed rarely
Behind their pleasant smile.