Watrerfront Watch

smoke, sky trails.
the tug turns, squirms,
then steers upriver.
the wheat has to move.
but with all that commotion,
you’d think a warship was out there.

today no sun.
the somber air is thick.
I watch a gull poke blood thirsty
into the glistening waves.
in life nothing dies easy.

we became a shipwreck.
struck rocks. the hull split.
what could we salvage?
all we could do was
watch our vessel reach bottom.

today, dockside,
the gravelly air teases, feels good.
new faces, a few pitched trees
give me courtly nod.
the breeze scrubs me clean.
my tears have wings like a puff of wind.
I feel a loose yearning. new imaginings sing.

I flash on a red skirt straight ahead.
interesting. those shiny buttons
kick with glitter,
as if they have their own language.
for a second she spins me around.
yes, like a crashing sea wave would.
our eyes meet. our thoughts crisscross.
what's she thinking?
she’s a voice.  a flash of light.
a picture perfect blossom.
they way I like.
yeah, my story has changed.
the good fire has grazed my lips.
I smell pasta.
yeah, I'm back.