i

half-hexagonal shape
of collected stones
walling the shore

flapless flight, a
white-belied eagle
spread against hill  

brass lock gate,
a dark morning
to high tide din

gulls fish diving
arrows at twilight,
star-mobbed night

ii

waves swish above,
whip us a few feet,
push, crash, beat

perched on a rock,
soft airborne feet
part water again

an early morning
climb up a cliff,
as far as eyes

can see, the
endless hazy
ruptures of sea

iii

little fire with
wet matchsticks,
coconut husk,

scrap wood,
twigs, winter
grass residue

a confetti of
tales at tea,
she, he, me

quieter in our
rooms at dusk,
again adrift

iv

I sum up my
habits, their
relentless

obstinate
shore lash,
wasted years

here, once
aside from
the crowd

consider
my islands,
my inner seas

v  

how demonic
to confront
oneself, for

once, let it be,
a calmness
settles like

residue, and
though youth
fades every

moment, I may
yet foray again,
again to meet

myself on a
salt breeze morn,
the tide, the beach

"Dad you are
getting old"
my kid
sounds alarmed,
as he yells out
that warning.
His curious eyes spied
the stray strands
of grey hair
I refuse to hide,
I could guess.  
                        Just up from the bed,
                        slipped out of his
                        mother's hands
                        he is eager to stand
                        against the scale
                       to see how much
                       did he grow last night.
                                                          ­   He opens wide
                                                            ­  his sleepy eyes,
                                                           ­   to look closely as if
                                                             to gauge the change
                                                             and looks betrayed.
                                                       ­      I see the  moving
                                                     ­        shadow of time
                                                            ­ in black and white
                                                           ­  in those little eyes.
                                                           ­   
                                                            "­My kid is
                                                             growing up"
                                                             ­ I realize
                                                         ­   "Time to slow down
                                                            ­ and hold his hands"

I kissed your lips and I knew
what the moon is feeling
as the world forbids it
to ever be close to the sea
no matter how many times
it attracts the water from up above

Seeing the world through tear stained eyes
Wondering how any one survives

The mountains we climb, trying to reach the sky, but we find
It's nothing more than the trail we leave behind

With out wings we think we can fly
Only to find we are falling from the sky
Being forced into an ocean of emotions to swim
But in the grand design someone forgot our fins

We reach for tomorrow, standing in today
As we look back, for the past has paved the way
Good or bad, when faith begins to fade
Hope is how we are saved

The illusion of time never moving, things never changing, at a still stand
Only in looking back can we see the clocks moving hands

For as surly as the moon brings in the tide
Our years in this life is but a fast ride
Moving so quickly, we don't feel the motion
Just like the the moon's pull on the ocean

Seeing the world through tear stained eyes
Knowing that in the end no one survives

Dear ocean tide,
I can see you wave to me
With your fingers
With your golden, sandy hair.
Ocean tide,
I can see you creeping closer
Wanting to greet me
Hoping to envelope me,
To pull me deep down into your depths
Where I will find myself
Having to fend off all your dark creatures that eat away at my guts.
Ocean tide,
I can't survive down there!
You will get distracted by the next maiden to dance along your shores.
You will forget me
Until she drowns too.
Ocean tide,
I can't keep up anymore...
I'm tired of swimming through your inconsistent currents.
You wash me out in a the most tiring way;
You leave grit in my hair and teeth
And it makes me want to spit you out.
Ocean tide,
Even though you are so breathtaking
And I would love to see you everyday
To feel your calming cool rush settle over my skin,
Leaving me filled with goosebumps but empty from air...
Ocean tide,
You are filled with far too much salt and so many sharp stings
That you may not notice...
But I notice them.
You give me nightmares about that one time you almost drowned me.
Ocean tide,
You're no good for me.
I am going to the mountains,
To the forests
Where I feel strong and safe.
Goodbye to your murky waters that leave me nauseous.

Seeing the world through tear stained eyes
Wondering how any one survives

The mountains we climb, trying to reach the sky, but we find
It's nothing more than the trail we leave behind

With out wings we think we can fly
Only to find we are falling from the sky
Being forced into an ocean of emotions to swim
But in the grand design someone forgot our fins

We reach for tomorrow, standing in today
As we look back, for the past has paved the way
Good or bad, when faith begins to fade
Hope is how we are saved

The illusion of time never moving, things never changing, at a still stand
Only in looking back can we see the clocks moving hands

For as surly as the moon brings in the tide
Our years in this life is but a fast ride
Moving so quickly, we don't feel the motion
Just like the the moon's pull on the ocean

Seeing the world through tear stained eyes
Knowing that in the end no one survives

The air is slow and still
faint puttering of the last barge
shunting coal downstream

city on the edge of sleep, settles
city on the edge of night, darkens

stretched steel and stone relax
cooling to a grey relief

reeds and sedges ripple
under bridges
and on the edges of the river

city in the gaze of moonlight, sighs
city in the haze of moonlight, slips

in the steady wash of tidal waters
and the brackish water of the estuary
come the bodies from the shore.


© M.L. Emmett