A God’s Trial

Pounded by waves, the longboat
pitches and rolls in the cold, angry sea;
surging swells as tall as the vessel is long
    batter it non-stop,

The lone oarsman, abandoned by
his fellow sailors, holds on

     (futilely?)

for dear life while struggling with
sail and rudder, battling desperately
to keep the dragonhead straight and upright
while Poseidon gives no quarter.