Return to The Coast
Or Pay a Vagrancy Charge for Grief
when dreams are shattered
our tears we consume
and delicate winds
bring the smell of perfume
alone i stand
kisses rise from the sea
tides cradle my grief
why not fields of berries?
the drowned roll forever
beneath waves in the night
lulled by the storms
and a moon in full flight
i’ve cried too much
heartsick at dawn
the cries of the gulls
will not bring them home
they sleep with leviathan
in the bottomless seas
why couldn’t they wander
in fields of berries?
the sun weeps roses
that glint in her eyes
dolphins excite her
and waves form her thighs
i miss her forever
my poem in the sea
drowned men follow
but she’s looking for me
dreams we once had
shattered like foam
tossed on the wind
to follow me home
now from my stupor
i stare at the waves
no field of berries
will ere’ be her grave
wait as i do
for the celestial tide
the one she said
on the wild winds ride
all things brought home
at the stroke of midnight
from the tangled kelp
comes a questing knight
the ocean wanderer
only God can command
delivers the princess
completely unharmed
borne on the storm
the beating of hearts
the ocean does sing
its musical arts
daylight reveals
the heaps of driftwood
but i know exactly
where it is that she stood
wrapped in wetness
death’s misty shroud
i knew she would leave
like the passing of cloud
love’s drowsiness
calls me awake on the shore
drunkenness briefly
opened a heavenly door
