Grey pre-dawn light
Twinkling stars fade slowly
into paling night sky
Waves break on the shore
Seagrass whispers to the wind
My breath plumes into chilly air
I shiver and pull my coat tighter
Colours and shapes take definition
The slow passing of time
Brings all into view
Muted but there
The first fingers of pink and gold
touch the far horizon
And excruciatingly slowly
The sliver of sun appears
Expands
And swells into the waiting sky

when you start
feeling as if
just being you
    is not enough ,..

when you see
the sunlight slipping away
sliding into the ocean
and the outbound tide
    is pulling strong ,..

   gravity throbs downward ―
you see it's weight groan
pacing in lonely eyes,

you feel it's burden
bear down on
a wayfaring stranger
   wandering away alone ,..
wondering what went wrong

stalled by a riverside
frozen in time ;
walking on slippery rocks
and fallen stars,
searching for peace
along the meandering shoreline

the waterfall surrenders
a river's silent lament ;
the storm gales' surge stirs
the urge for moving on

a heart broken knows
how fickle tides change
which way the wind blows ,..

which way the rain
     comes falling down ―

watershed moments
undulating
serpentine rivers,

unbridled terrain waters
veritably cascading  beyond
blurred latitudes,
uninhibitedly drifting
     in shapeless symmetry ―

a deep ocean rises
with the calling tide's
murmur,

  the shorebirds linger ;
hole up with the peace
of the unsullied sands
at the sea stained
      tide-mark ―

barnacles cling
to the pulse
of the tidal sway
where starfish hold on to
   slippery rocks ,..

being enough
to while away
just a little bit longer ―

to simply let it all be
and wholly wash out
in the water
waiting for the tide change,

to swallow whole
the rivers stagnant flow,
immersing
    the stars in swirling silence ―

in the unrestrained
    rhythm and the sea ...

I passed a quiet hour today,
Watching people in a Café.
The studious girl with her homework spread,
Glancing sideways at the clique she'd rather join instead.
The middle-aged woman licking lips as she swiped,
Was it tinder, shoes or pastries on her notepad flying right?
The couple not speaking so engrossed in their phones,
Only acknowledging each other when it was time to go home.
The trio of yummy mummies, dressed carefully to ****,
Smudging lipstick on caramel lattes - politely competing to pay the bill.
I watched them all quietly,
Each tableau a one-act play.
On my last sip the curtain fell,
I rose and paid. Went my own way.

Hovering high
Powerful wings
Maintain precise position
Steadfast beats
Against the wind
Battling storm conditions
Exhaustion comes
In the blink of a eye
They are swept beyond my vision.