You Missed the Bay

Summary

The text reflects on a missed opportunity to share a serene moment with someone, suggesting that such experiences could have offered emotional solace.

Abstract

The poem "You Missed the Bay" from the Sky Collection, Poem 56, contemplates the narrator's regret over not fully appreciating a shared view with another person. It implies that witnessing a storm together might have provided emotional release and healing from past sorrows. The narrator acknowledges the fragility of their own and the other person's world, which they once believed to be resilient. Despite the missed chance, there is hope expressed for the other person to find their own place of peace, likened to "Cairo" and "Marrakesh."

Opinions

The author conveys a sense of regret for not being able to share a tranquil and possibly therapeutic experience with the subject of the poem.
There is an acknowledgment that both the author and the subject have worlds that are not as strong as they thought, suggesting a shared human vulnerability.
The poem expresses a wish for the subject to find personal fulfillment or enlightenment, symbolized by the search for "Cairo" and "Marrakesh."
The author seems to believe in the power of nature, particularly the calming effect of water and the spectacle of a storm, to provide emotional healing and perspective.

Sky Collection — Poem 56

Photo by the author

I only half-knew of your view. All of the time away, calm waters possibly could have freed you. If someone could have helped you sit (and you were grateful for the help) perhaps just to watch a storm roll in over the gulf would have been enough to swallow grief — regret — pride in one large gulp. But my fantasy world is not made of steel, as I once thought. And neither is yours. I hope you still find your Cairo. May you find the way to Marrakesh.