Seacocks—The Unsung Heroes

I spent the morning
Reading political blogs—
Written by angry people
Calling each other
Loathsome names.

I’m not proud of it;
Shamed, if anything¸
But the thing is that
Once I start, I can’t stop.

But I had a medical appointment
And had to stop and go and pay
Tribute to the medical profession
By waiting my time in a small room
Full of old magazines.

“Wooden Boats—The Magazine
For Wooden Boat Owners, Builders and Designers”
Was left behind on a seat next to mine.

The cover story was on seacocks--
The unsung heroes of watertight integrity.

I have never heard of seacocks
But watertight integrity
Sounded important
And so I started to read.

You see, the seacocks are the valves
That can stem the flow of raw water
In through-hull fittings.

I didn’t know about through—hull fittings
But come to think about it
Since they go through the hull
Everyone would agree that
That you should have seacocks to
To keep the boat from sinking.

What a luxury:
A real problem
With a simple solution.