Captains

i am a captain
one you’ve never heard of
i do not ride, i strike
i do not sail, i shoot
i do not fly
i recruit boys with the souls of spirits,
the faces of ghosts
and the command of beasts.

i make them captains
the kind you may not hear of
they guard and protect
take and replace
starve to fend and favour their crew
and this else is true;
they do not strike, the ride
they do not shoot, they sail
they do not recruit, they fly
but they bear, they mate

and make their seeds new captains
the kind you may have heard of
they move
on land
on water
in the air
they command
humans
tides
headwinds
till they crash, till they drown
till they are forgotten

leonell echa