Dereliction: And the Ocean Too Weeps

by Salim Bhimji

Through restless centuries I have powered Heroic onslaughts by commanders Of the great empires.

Across the ages, man has longed to unravel The mystique that shrouds me. The scholars of science reach

For me to uncover secrets of the past. Pioneering men seeking out new lands Deemed me the crowning conquest.

Mighty industries flourish because of me And dynasties shaped, by men Who wove their steel through me.

For entrenched within, like incipient gems, I meld the very elements with which kingdoms Power prosperity. Yet no man can own me.

Agile and self-replenishing

I am a mirror of the heavens, Nestling every rhythm, in cycles rippling.

To the unwitting I am formidable. But the same seek solace in me; In the soft, soothing songs That dance through my being.

I am the cradle of life for billions.

Salim Bhimji

Salim Bhimji is a Maritime Analyst who has worked across the shipping industry for over 25 years. He has been part of a team that provides intelligence to shipowners, ship operators and brokers. The data spans all major commercial shipping sectors, including tanker, chemical tanker, bulk carrier and the LNG/ LPG segments. He is an Executive Director and Managing Partner of Ocean Press & Publishing Ltd. He began his creative writing education at The Poetry School in London and says that he was “pleasantly astonished” to discover that he was nominated a finalist for The Montreal Poetry Prize.

Salim’s poem will be published in an anthology, which will form part of the English Literature curriculum to be taught at several Universities across North America and beyond.

The anthology will be published by Véhicule Press.

Yet, for all my elegance, I am now bereft; Wounded. The turning tides, so harsh, Have left me ravaged; in anguish.

How I yearn to be cherished again. Grant me the dignity I deserve. That dignity which was once unspoken, Then, almost broken.

To survive, I must search reach clutch At new ways to reinvent myself. A mere ritual since times long past.

Except these are dark days And I face ferocious thunders ahead. Yes, I am wrenched by the unknown.

Though known by many names, I am unique. That I might look invincible Is simply part of the mystique.

Beyond the drifted ocean, A heroine’s grief, spoken.

The Montreal International Poetry Prize

The Montreal International Poetry Prize was founded in 2010 by the poet and critic Asa Boxer. It sponsors a crowd-funded competition, awarding one prize of $20,000 to one poet for a single poem every two years. It is a global competition, supported by an international jury of poets from around the world and participants from more than 100 countries. It is managed by the Department of English at McGill University.

The competition invites online submissions of poems in English from anywhere in the world, and is judged by an eminent poet appointed by the Department of English at McGill University. In 2011 the competition was judged by former British Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion. Subsequent judges have included Don Paterson, Eavan Boland, Michael Harris, Yusef Komunyakaa and Lorna Goodison.

The $20,000 prize is thought to be the world’s largest monetary prize for a single poem.