GOODNIGHT.....

At last in the crow's nest of my life, I feel like the Keeper of the  First Watch.

In the retiring beach bungalows and substantial homesteads of my childhood,
There were those more resplendent harbourages,
Where covered roofdecks crested like periscopes,
Out of the centre of all apexes --
Islands of outlook
In seas of tile and corrugated iron,
Where in-looking patriarchs searched farther horizons for signs of possible cataclysm,
And anxious wives for the homecoming of beloved fish-husbands.

As the eventide settles gently on my worldweary shoulders
Like a benediction of dew,
I watch
And wait quietly and humbly to draw around me
My children and grandchildren
For a blessed vesper of comfort and conversation.

After which, I will bid you
Good night
And go to my rest.