Dennis C McGuire
Preface to the Companion On completion of the 'Ballad of Calypso' I felt compelled to bring out the poetic outline, allowing it to stand alone and relate this adventure to that audience who enjoy the music embedded in rhyming poetry. There are no instruments, however, the foot may begin tapping or the body rocking as the reader follows the story. As mentioned, this is an outline. It will carry the reader through the entire journey, quickly and smoothly. Where it lacks in prosaic details found in the book, it is filled with the music which the prose interrupts. This is Calypso’s log book and the rhyme in 'Rhyme of the Modern Mariner'. The reader may gain insight into the mind of the mariner living on the fringe on land, and at sea for months in the Doldrums, the Trade Winds and the stormy North Pacific Equinox. This is a ballad which allows the writer to tell a true story in terms that are more like painting a picture, than using the written word to convey an image to the reader. One hopes the reader will get the feel of being at the helm of a small sailboat negotiating the twists and turns, bridges and inlets, of the Intra Coastal Waterway. Negotiate the treacherous reefs of the Caribbean and feel the boat ride big waves and climb the rigging in a heavy seaway. Meet the critters who joined Calypso on her ninety-seven day journey from Panama to Hawaii. The trials and tribulations of a couple in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a sinking wooden boat. It’s all here, an invitation to take a chance and 'go for it' at least once in a lifetime. DMc
