Harbor Town

by Kathryn Morski

I smell the wind I hear the gulls
And the fleet returns and the nets are full
Clouds mass red like the end of the world
Sun strikes masts where the sails lie furled
Day is dying in a harbor town
Day is dying

I sit at the dock at the end of the town
And I watch as the buoys bob up and down
The boast all dip as the green waves swell
And the gulls cry out to the marker bell
Then the sky goes pale as the sun sinks low
And the clouds pick up on the golden glow
In the harbor town

I smell the wind...

The kids don't come to the beach in the fall
They all drive out to the shopping mall
The tourist spots are locked up tight
And a sleek gull lands on the traffic light
There's a sound of the boatman's distant call
And the slap of the waves on the old break wall
In the harbor town

I smell the wind...

An old man sleeps on the bench at the dock
The sliding sun is his only clock
He wakes with a start as the shadows reach
Then he gets up and looks down the empty beach
His shadow leaps from advancing feet
As he walks toward home down the dusky street
In the harbor town

I smell the wind...

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