The Sea and Time

a poem by Jan Oskar Hansen

A luxury liner broke the surface
of my mirror; crushed sea is brown
underneath.

A long slash across the horizon,
but when the liner docked in Havana
the mirror had healed itself.

In the afternoon the Caribbean sun
filled the surface of my mirror with
blinding light and the liner sunk.

When I could see again, my face was
much older than the day before.
The sea isn’t kind to anyone.