Elements
The elements are already here
Sun-fire, wind, and metallic sea
A lasting longing brought me back
Fear and love and hope to be with thee.
No childhood home, no earthly bind
A silent rope and anchor tied
A need for calm and solitude
A place to grow, and think and bide.
Time stands still as seasons ebb
Tho' life speeds past in endless waves
The air and light wash over me
An endless tonic to cleanse and save.
Gulls call and glide out to sea
Once tempting tears and need for flight
I rest here now, unheeding sirens call
At peace, at home, no need to flee.
Sun-fire, wind, and metallic sea
A lasting longing brought me back
Fear and love and hope to be with thee.
No childhood home, no earthly bind
A silent rope and anchor tied
A need for calm and solitude
A place to grow, and think and bide.
Time stands still as seasons ebb
Tho' life speeds past in endless waves
The air and light wash over me
An endless tonic to cleanse and save.
Gulls call and glide out to sea
Once tempting tears and need for flight
I rest here now, unheeding sirens call
At peace, at home, no need to flee.
Seagulls
Mother sits through wind, heat, rain
Father watches from chimney perch
Nest unruly, warm and safe
Patience and vigilance await the birth
I watch from a window; seasons change
She waits, he feeds her, day after day
Cruising the sky and the ocean range
Returning with tiny tit bits of prey.
Visitors arrive from homes afar
They pass oblivious to the natural act
Bringing with them city trash and cars
And then leaving with unknown impact.
The crows come like insiduous thieves
Their goal to sample newborn flesh
The father gull becomes irate and seethes
Wings aflap he chases them west.
Now, on a hot June, delightful day,
The mother steps off her eerie for a while
And two heads of joy, noisy, fluffy, grey
Take a first look at the world and I smile.
Father watches from chimney perch
Nest unruly, warm and safe
Patience and vigilance await the birth
I watch from a window; seasons change
She waits, he feeds her, day after day
Cruising the sky and the ocean range
Returning with tiny tit bits of prey.
Visitors arrive from homes afar
They pass oblivious to the natural act
Bringing with them city trash and cars
And then leaving with unknown impact.
The crows come like insiduous thieves
Their goal to sample newborn flesh
The father gull becomes irate and seethes
Wings aflap he chases them west.
Now, on a hot June, delightful day,
The mother steps off her eerie for a while
And two heads of joy, noisy, fluffy, grey
Take a first look at the world and I smile.
Going to St. Ives
Small, wind washed, golden boy
He tests his toes in shallow waves
"Cold, cold", he cries, but carries on
Sandy, wet, and suddenly brave.
Blue eyes reflect the summer sky
Intent on castles built of sand
He chatters on to unseen friends
Always returning to take my hand.
Grown and married soon to be
Alone, same ocean, I reflect
On how things change and stay the same
Like foaming waves that come collect
The memories like messages scribed in sand
And childhood hopes and dreams marked out
With seaweed, shells, buckets and spades
And I remember the tiny hand
As I prepare to let him go
With love he will return to me
With his own child to build more dreams
And I will hold his tiny hand as we look out across the sea.
He tests his toes in shallow waves
"Cold, cold", he cries, but carries on
Sandy, wet, and suddenly brave.
Blue eyes reflect the summer sky
Intent on castles built of sand
He chatters on to unseen friends
Always returning to take my hand.
Grown and married soon to be
Alone, same ocean, I reflect
On how things change and stay the same
Like foaming waves that come collect
The memories like messages scribed in sand
And childhood hopes and dreams marked out
With seaweed, shells, buckets and spades
And I remember the tiny hand
As I prepare to let him go
With love he will return to me
With his own child to build more dreams
And I will hold his tiny hand as we look out across the sea.
