Awakening

I was stirred to consciousness by the caress of waves to the hull; an early departure from the reincarnate harbor disturbing the morning glass. The evening before, as I stroked my way from some final pub to Deidre's mooring, it had been a cacophony of worldly celebration - laughter, drinking, music and the hum of crowds. And while pleasant enough, especially after my countless samplings of the local rums, the evening paled when compared with the Eden-like wash that gave birth to the day in such places as this. The morning sea smells mixed with creosote and marsh grasses, and the first glow of the rising sun, cleansed the world as if God awakened them anew just for me on this day. The calm cool air, too new even for the first calls of the birds, filled me with hope and cleansed prior sins - a sailor's communion. Little did I know, how short-lived my purity would be.