an unmooring

I'm a ship on the sea;
waves roll me;
drifting, grounded,
sailing, stranded,
storm-ravaged.

I'm the anchor
sinking suddenly,
sands shifting into me
--then the lift--

(the bow breaks,
snaps back together)

The captain sleeps and awakens.
The metaphor breaks; I'm mistaken.

I'm a clipping of time,
a snapshot, a rhyme,
a streak of light, a curtsy,

a penny on the ground

(sometimes lost,
sometimes found)