To an age before
This silence of spirit
And its sorrows
These days of hardness
And slight assurances

Back to a time
Of no small beauty
When time itself
Came in an abundance
Applied to the creation
Of wondrous things
While wonder was divinely inspired

Meaning was no fleeting connection
And purpose a life’s rendition

Before profit and growth and ROI
Became ends and means and purpose

A time long before
The remains of this pier
Were ever a pier
Before ever a ship
Sailed these waters
Before any European left the shores
Of a land not yet named Europe

Gently floating
I let waves and bird song
Dominate the frantic race
Of engines on the highway behind me
Breathe the ocean deeply in
Exhale millennia of progress

For a moment, at least
I exist in a time before
All that I am
Was ever possible

Can I let this self die
This day
Allow a time before
To lead me
To a time that follows