Salt Between the Tides

The sea kept time against the stone,
Each wave struck hard, then slipped away.
He cast a line through winds unknown,
And watched the horizon bend to gray.

The gulls drew circles over foam,
Their sharp cries split the salted air.
He stood where restless currents roam,
With brine and thunder in his stare.

The clouds grew wild with molten seams,
Like old gods waking from the deep.
The water carried fractured dreams,
Too fierce for memory to keep.

His reel sang out; the breakers roared,
Dark spray climbed high against the reef.
Yet calm still settled through his core,
A stubborn cure for private grief.

The ocean offered no replies,
No polished truth, no sacred chart.
Still, amber fire filled the skies,
And steadied every fractured part.

So dusk withdrew beyond the swell,
While shadows cooled the ragged shore.
He smiled where ancient waters fell,
And asked the silent sea for more.