Reflections on a Pier in St. Joseph
“You will find poetry nowhere, unless you bring some of it with you.” – Joseph Joubert
The sun descends upon the lake,
The inland sea I call my own,
Straggling brilliance in its wake,
And I watch it here alone.
Is it me that sinks beneath the foam?
An idea buried in too-real stuff?
But the realm of night is not its home,
It rises soon enough.
Drink in the colors, the purples and blues,
Breathe in the lake and its sounds,
Watch the clouds drift, the sun’s rays diffuse,
It’s a simple beauty I’ve found.
When the golden orb falls through the threshold of night,
I’ll be left on its doorstep, my eyes full of shade.
But its windows will open, reveal stars, bold and bright,
And the glory in them God has made.
Now seagulls calling, each one to each,
Greet my ears with a familiar old cry.
I welcome them, gathered on the edge of the beach,
Comrades in sunsets gone by.
As my eyes meet the sun’s swift-fleeing, reddening gaze,
I think upon him and he thinks upon me.
My envy is of the splendor that crowns all his days
And his of the spark, my mystery.
All Creation groans, its true face turned away,
Away from man’s eyes, except God change his heart.
For then its right image meets clear light of day,
And the poet reveals through his art.
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