Hemlocked Heart

Sat still on weathered driftwood at the edge of the world
I watch, a bundled sentinel, over the endless gray horizon

Clouds form a storm at sea, fields of thunder and lighting
Approach the calm coastline, heralded by whipping winds

Who heard the great majestic frenzy to the quiet shore
Closer, closer, calamity comes, distressing patient waves

Gulls burrow in the seagrass making a grim rustling symphony
Or abandon their realm and flee inland craving sheltered safety

And in the chaos Ocean grins, marking herself a noble mystery
Quickly, the waters bring in darkness to drown out the pale sun

As the Ocean meets the winter rain, she reflects silver eternity
Greeting each droplet with great aplomb, a careful collector

A homecoming for the ages, a longing reunion of many to the one
She bolts and bends to meet freshwater with a regal embrace

Allowing for a moment the triumph of the skies, Ocean churns
Inspired by the commanding power of water in the clouds in turn

Revealing in due time, Poseidon’s wild dancing on the waves,
Gleeful and outrageous in the storm made to last for ten days

Dripping in glittering pearls sent from Zeus’s domain, he romps
Each pelting a courageous reminder of ancient primordial ways

And I, now stood atop driftwood, as the shore becomes the sea
Take my guidance from the gulls and turn on my heels to flee.