THE BOAT BUILDER

There was an older man who lived on a hill.
If he hadn't built a boat he'd be living there still.
He built it to travel, he built it for fun.
He built it to follow the warmth of the sun.
He built it for something to do every day
He built it, for working with love is like play.
He lived in a shack on the side of the mountain.
His water flowed fresh from the stream like a
fountain.

His needs, they were simple, his pleasures were full.
He had a small garden, he could make any tool.
He heated and cooked on a stove fed with wood.
He gathered dried windfalls each day as he could.
His laundry each week in a bucket he'd wash,
hang it out on the line and it's lovely, by gosh!

Once the chores were all done he had plenty of time.
As a project, to build a nice boat just seemed fine.
He wasn't as strong as he was as a youth
and he was getting older, if you must know the truth.
So he worked on the boat with the best he could give
but the object was the pleasure from each day he would
live.

The pleasure in planning and thinking it through.
The pleasure in creating something to do.
Each day had it's piece of the puzzle to solve.
For a project so big, one has to think small.
He planned and figured to be sure it would float.
He used math and physics to design his dream boat.
He studied his plans and worked every day.

Neither setbacks nor problems would stand in his way.
He worked in the sunshine, he built in the cold.
He worked because working he did not feel old.
He built through the seasons, he built through the years.
He built on his dreams and he worked through his fears.
He tried not to grouse and he tried not to grumble
even when off of the deck he did tumble.

Many friends helped, they did what they could.
They helped with lifting, they fed him good food.
They'd look in amazement, some said he was crazy,
but the way the boat grew, no one said he was lazy.
The question they asked "How will you get it down?"
The physics is quite possible, the method will be
found.

Lift it by dirigible or with two helicopters.
A dream, it would seem for a movie scene
among the dramatic eye poppers.
Or else, with a moving truck, put it on wheels,
a ride down the mountain with quite a few thrills.
Launch it, he did, though I won't tell you how
for he's there in the water and setting sail now.

The crew, they are seven, the sails, they are square.
They are heading for Cuba to learn and to share.
There is more than one way to live a life,
more than competing with struggle and strife.
If we open our minds and see good in our friends
much good is created for our mutual ends.
One's efforts and dreams can create a fine story
and the fruits of the efforts are everyone's glory.

By Rivkah Sweedler

music by Sharon Abreu, www.irthlingz.org
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