A quirk of fate

Photo provided by Magpie Tales.

Standing here in my brother’s coat
staring out to sea and wishing
I could be the one out on the boat
living a sailor’s life amid sails and cannons
instead of here in my girlish petticoat–
pretending I’m fishing.

“A quirk of Fate,” I tell my brother,
“our souls were clearly switched at birth.”
It is I who belongs on the sailing ship,
wearing shiny skin boots and suits of brocade
with a jaunty cock-hat and a frilly shirt…
buttons of brass and fine velvet knickers!
and YOU who should be here on the shore–

But alas!  Woe is me! –The luck is all yours…
for I am corseted and stranded in this body
weak and tender, forced to wear clothing
of silk and lace, never anything “gaudy.”
I wish I could be the one out on the boat
living a sailor’s life–instead of standing…