I no longer feel like a broken sailor
16/2/2019
When I draw
And make art with the pen
I often draw
Anchors and lighthouses
Because there’s something
About the idea
Of being safe at sea
Through the worst of storms
And being safe from the sharks
The white whale and the kraken
That appeals to me
The aesthetic of
Lonely old sailors
Reminds me of my own story
Lost at sea in the local jail
Waiting for the chance
To return to shore
I often send
These drawings to
My eldest brother
And I’m sure
As much as he likes them
That he doesn’t understand
How rough the sea
Of my life has been
—
It’s no secret I love the nautical aesthetic and think of my time in prison as being lost at sea waiting to be released and return to dry land. Thinking of anchors helped me feel that during the hard years I was never going to succumb to the desperate misery of the place.
My eldest brother has been a rock of moral support and being incarcerated the only gift I could give him for his birthdays were a drawing so somehow the yearly anchor has become a tradition.
I made it through my time and I no longer feel like a broken sailor.
