One Day

The sea will be here when my memories are gone.
Crippled trees will bend their backs to harsh winds,
Waves will shatter against the cliffs;
Their new-carved stone retells the ancient story
I first learned when I let go a rough warm hand,
And staggered, uncertain, into an unfamiliar world.

The stars will be here when my words
Are swallowed in the void. Moon-rimmed clouds
Will boil and race, dissolve from slate to silence.
A billion sparks turn above a stony shore,
Their names churned, crumbled and dispersed,
The Hunter, the Eagle, the Cross, North no longer true;
And galaxies will gutter into smoke.

One day, far from here,
You may scent my atoms on the breeze,
Discern lost thoughts in the space between the stars,
And offer them new names.

But here, now, before they fall,
Let us dance on these wild cliffs,
And laugh on the shores of this moonlit sea.

Even in the failing light, bright threads
Stitch my rough thoughts to yours,
And my heart lies cupped in your hands.

One day, silence will be all there is to know,
And love will drift on through the dark.


RBW 
September 2016