A void, a vacuum, a ship with no sea
Imprisoned in a bottle, no future there be.
Black visions, gray memories of horrors untold,
Awaken, shackled to a floor damp and cold.

Tossed and churned on this ship with no sea.
No escape from the bottle, no air to breathe.
In my head waves crashing. The storm won’t subside.
No beacon of hope.  No where to hide.

No hope for return on this ship with no sea.
Tormented, anguished, down on one knee,
Cry to the Father,” Oh Lord, Help me! Please!!
Escape from the bottle and this ship with no sea!”

My God, my ship!  Now sails on the sea!
Free from the bottle! God lifted me!
The white foam, blue water, a new course I steer
With God as my Captain, my ship will not veer.

My ship now sails on this blue water sea,
The ship’s log, the Bible, the Father and me,
Storms will blow, and batter my sails,
But with God’s love and blessing, my life will not fail!

Source of Inspiration for The Ship With No Sea
Tim, an alcoholic for 20 years, regained consciousness on the floor of the county jail.  He thought he had lost it all – family, home, job.  But he struggled to his knees and begged God to “take this alcoholism away from me”.  From that moment, God lifted Tim’s ship from the bottle and set him on a sober course.
The Ship With No Sea was published in Poetry’s Elite, The Best Poets of 2000.