25: Raft

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We're Building the Ship as We Sail It
by Kay Ryan

The first fear
being drowning, the
ship's first shape
was a raft, which
was hard to unflatten
after that didn't
happen. It's awkward
to have to do one's
planning in extremis
in the early years—
so hard to hide later:
sleekening the hull,
making things
more gracious.