Nights at Sea

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One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.--Jane Austen


Once again, that eternal conversation
Going on in the the dark across
A short suspension bridge between ships
That may as well be island worlds

Of unknowing ones who understand
Each other, perhaps, better than they do
Themselves. As if understanding helped.
And now, as the obscure harbor looms,
Not exactly a port safe from the storm,

Explosive words mine the dire straits;
We ask ourselves, how can we navigate
These narrows without deceiving beacons
Flashing come off it and give us a break
To misguide us?

Pigeon Point Lighthouse: photo by Mila Zinkova, 2008
Nividic Lighthouse, Ouessant Island, Finistère: photo by Samuel Lamotte d'Incamps, 2005