Rick's Poetry: Sea Storm

Sea Storm
(c) May 4, 2001

I feel a storm a coming
there's magic in the sky
The clouds of deep dark purple
are boiling as they fly

The air is so magnetic
I feel the energy
The hair stands up behind my neck
as lightning finds the sea

The ocean now is angry
the salt has turned to foam
I hear the crack of thunder
hope my boat will hold it's own

I struggle in the wheelhouse
to keep my compass pointed east
I must pass the edge of hell
and flee this natural beast

Many times I've been here
and each time I survive
The furious hungry waves of rage
that can take a sailors life

A little spark of sunshine
out on my starboard side
Just enough to give me hope
that I might stay alive

There is a hidden strength
in each and every man
So if I make my port tonight
I'll quickly shake God's hand

by Ricky D. McKean

Rick McKean (1962-2011)

Rick McKean graduated a track star from Capital High School in Boise, Idaho. After serving in the U.S. Navy with the construction batallion and operating heavy machinery, and time in abroad in Guam, Rick was honorably discharged and took residence in Oxnard, California, near the naval base.

After working several years in various trades, including light aircraft maintenance, locksmith and auto repair, Rick worked for a paper pulp recycling plant in Oxnard until the late 90s. Expressing his love for the ocean, and despite physical limitations, he took up scuba diving and enjoyed good times with friends exploring the Channel Islands off the Ventura coastline. Rick suffered from depression and alcoholism.

The poetry on this site was written in 2001-2002 while an inmate at California Correctional Facility, Salinas, California. After parole, Rick again took residence in Oxnard, purchased a boat, and lived on the water in Channel Islands Harbor. Continuing his appreciation of nature and the environment, Rick worked in harbor maintenance, patrolling the harbor and collecting/dislodging debris that had washed in from sea.

Rick continued to live on his boat and attend AA meetings and treatment programs, and eventually was issued a driver's license and bought a car. In 2010, he drove his car to his home state of Idaho and visited his family whom he had not seen in many years. Despite numerous physicial limitations, Rick continued to live his life to the fullest extent, including handling nearly all of the maintnenance of his boat/home.

In late 2010, Rick bought a new computer, with the intention to publish these poems online. In January of 2011, Rick suffered an untimely death where he sustained a head injury repairing his boat, lost balance, and fell into the water, and succombed to the cold temperatures.

This blog contains Rick's Poetry.

(c) Ricky Dale McKean 2001, 2001

Rick's Poetry

Sea Storm - May 4, 2001

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