After the Storm

When dusk has beaten the ocean to gold
Or when rain rips the water and grey shreds
Darken to the smoky limits of light 
Or in the shattered howl of the tempest

Senseless, screaming at the shore 
Or adrift in the mist of morning
Numb, wondering, above chill green
Nursing the memory of a distant storm -

Nothing has changed
Nothing at all.

We are slapped and swayed by every swell
We are warmed by every beat of the uncertain sun
We are lost in shifting peaks.

This unfamiliar realm is ours
And weathered as we are
Gnawed by time, by storm, by light -

Watch the sea, my love
Always, the sea.

jjj