Burned old crag
Half buried in the soot grey sand
Pitted by heavy rain
Issued from distressing sky
Black rocks
Tossed up on the shoreline
Decay in the surf
Still there is colour here
Kelly grass and golden straw
Life defies the gloom
Burned old crag
Half buried in the soot grey sand
Pitted by heavy rain
Issued from distressing sky
Black rocks
Tossed up on the shoreline
Decay in the surf
Still there is colour here
Kelly grass and golden straw
Life defies the gloom
Embers burn beneath the grey
From the fire an amber glow
Mitten outlined on horizon black
In the dying light of setting sun
A simple scene becomes exquisite
He’d always start the day
In the ocean
With a board
And the waves
The water was always cold
Often too the air
Grey skies the norm
The sea like slate
But every wave
Was a band of colour
In a rainbow
That became his day
A grey day
Light flattened
By a thick
Midday haze
Made all the more grim
By my mood
Impenetrable as the atmosphere
From full steam
To dead ahead slow
All stations stop
Close my eyes
Deep breath
Not stopped
Becalmed
Diminished light emerges
Find the blue
In sky and sea
Contrast highlight with shadow
Underway, with tranquil gratitude
Shadows can be too dark
Highlights can be too bright
In the grey all is line and texture
I see the form of what is
Without interpreting darkness and light
Splish splash
Boat at anchor
On the sea
Roly poly
Float the logs
Storms set free
The clouds did not break
The sun did not shine
So I sat with the rain
Found the beauty in the greys
With the susurrus of droplets
Falling on the gentle sea
In the peace I found there
The spark of a mirthful hope
Perhaps it would be better
If the rain did never end
The last act
Of a once reticent sun
This vibrant glimmer
This display of possibility
No flutter on the water
No ripple in the wind
No fish or whale
To breech the sea
No gull on wing
To cry the air alive
No colour falls to eye
In this world
Of nothingness
In stillness
Drifted I
Aboard a ship
No sails were set
Devoid of all intent
My mind awash
In listless thought
No acts of love
From feckless heart
Yet all the while
And deep below
This ship becalmed
My spirit spare
A current
Ran unseen
It swirled
And tossed
It mustered
Forces unbeknown
Which bubbled to the top