Monday, June 8, 2015

The Sinking Long Tail Boat of Ao Nang (Krabi, Thailand)


I saw a sinking boat while waiting for Ao Nang's famous sunset - a tail boat gradually sinking. And I remember having come across a long'ish poem about sinking boats, probably a metaphor to life. The author, George Krokos, is Greek who now lives in Melbourne. He usually writes about philosophy and the spiritual aspects of life, and of nature. I'd like to share an excerpt from Mr. Krokos' poem here:

The Sinking Ship

by George Krokos

"The ship is sinking and we all have to get out
I wonder if there are enough life boats about, 
that are able to take us safely to the distant shore
where we may live happily for a while once more.

The old boat is going down as it has had its day
and all that we know and love is passing away.
It seems strange and sad how this has come about
but the evidence is clear without a shadow of doubt.

For those who have been prepared the way is certain
but for those who are not there's an invisible curtain
between them and that to where they could be going
as the paths to that destination are not at all showing.

There's been too many changes in a world gone mad
and so many of them have only turned out to be bad.
And when people think too much of themselves and so little of others
they perpetuate ignorance which neglects we’re all sisters and brothers."

The poem is 8 paragraphs long and reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee" by virtue of its sentiment and length, though Poe's poem was more of a homage to a loved one.

Ao Nang Beach is a resort town, a beach community unabashedly geared towards tourism, in the Krabi province of South Thailand. It is located 20 kilometers from Krabi Town where more local activities occur. The mildly chaotic' albeit restless population of Ao Nang is mostly transient. 

That afternoon, by the beach, I realized that even sinking ships have ways of getting out of the water. Isn't that reflective of our own travails and failures? 

This is the Eye in the Sky


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