The ocean left me in the night
And I wept quietly,
Swallowing salt tears and wishing
They were sea spray;
Hoping for one last glimpse
Of its magnificent depths as
Dawn cracked the violet sky.
I will miss its mystery and its haunting
Songs of calm and rage;
I will miss its relentless charge
Upon kelp-strewn, goldenrod sands:
Wiping clear the slate of beach-scratched
Testimonials to holiday love that
Burned bright under glorious sun;
Demolishing the castles
That proud little builders so
Fervently believed would defy
The creeping tide.
No more, for me, the cool shadows
Of jagged, towering cliffs, with
Hidden clefts to hide a furtive kiss;
No more, for me, the purple quilts
Of heather, soft beds for star-gazing
Between the spikes of gorse and stones.
I am out of sight again, lost amongst
The clanking, filthy yammer of the city,
Stalked by smooth-faced skyscrapers
And jumbles of pubs and clubs that spill
The tired and drunk on littered streets.
My sea belongs to others now and
They claim it eagerly for their own:
Writing their own stories;
Painting their own pictures;
As my memories of languorous days,
Imprinted with gentle purpose,
Begin to drift and fade.
And now I ache:
Ache for my lover, for her embrace
That washed me clean of fear, of years;
Ache for my friend, for her company
That blunted the knives of lonely days;
Ache for she who, for a moment, showed me
Careless happiness amongst the waves.
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Fragments And Reflections
PoetryPoems looking at everything and anything not in my other collections. Here you'll find life and time, wild oceans and lonely coast paths, busy streets and empty hotel rooms, wild concerts and late night writing. All just fragments and reflections, l...
