My little
poem, "Destination Unknown", up today at The Camel Saloon (yay!).
This title is from a quote on the poet Conrad Aiken's grave, in Bonaventure
Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia: "Cosmos Mariner, Destination Unknown".
I've always loved the quote (and in fact, plan on getting it tattooed on the
back of my neck sometime, right underneath my Jolly Roger tat), and the
story behind it, as told in Midnight
in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt:
“Aiken loved to come here and watch the ships go
by…one afternoon, he saw one with the name Cosmos Mariner painted on the bow.
That delighted him. The word ‘cosmos’ appears often in his poetry, you know.
That evening he went home and looked for mention of the Cosmos Mariner in the
shipping news. There it was, in tiny type on the list of ships in port. The
name was followed by the comment ‘Destination Unknown’. That pleased him even more.”
Also on his grave, which is actually an inviting
bench (he wanted people to come to his grave in the beautiful cemetery, and
enjoy a drink while they also watched the ships pass), is the inscription,
"Give My Love to the World". Well, I've sat there and enjoyed a drink
myself, and that quote, "Cosmos Mariner, Destination Unknown", has
been my travel motto ever since. In that spirit, this poem came about. And
that, my friends, is an awfully long explanation for a very short poem, ha ha.
You can read the piece at the always-awesome Camel
Saloon, run by the always-awesome barkeep/editor, Russell Streur, at this link:
And by the way, here's a shot I took of Aiken's
grave/bench in Savannah. Hopefully, I'll make it back there someday for another
drink. Cheers!
