Red Tide

Red tide –
I saw you in dreaming
Across an old peach-hued ocean,
Splashed in the crimson
Of a hope­ful sun­set sky;

Shells and peb­bles in gold­en glitter
In time with waves a‑whispering
A del­i­cate breeze wraps me round
And car­ries me back to ecstasy;

The waters stand just warm enough
To be tru­ly invit­ing and free
They don’t feel tat­ters of pain
Nor tomor­row’s com­ing tides;

Found objects so strange I see
As I make the jour­ney forwards
You can take a few now with you,
And then you’ll see them fade to air;

A paint­brush’s hope­ful fare and share
Can nev­er hide what truths bequeath
Can nev­er mend the sor­row­ful roads
Will nev­er right the hurt that’s done

And now I wake from dreams to see this –

Per­haps the best partings
are done at such times as
There’s still something
beau­ti­ful to remember.

At least, this was.