As Newport Turns Dark on Me
twilight/ I pace the pier of sound/ the seamy docks of shadow/
high windows inverted/ minnows swallow stars/
taste my tongue/ a fish’s salt/ a rock’s memory/
storm & cloud sleep in my rigging/ gulls dive for
my fingers as if they were bread/ to each his own
commandments/ his broken compass/ his tides in reverse/
feisty waves pound the earth at both ends
John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in Penumbra, Poetry Salzburg Review and Hollins Critic. Latest books, Leaves On Pages and Memory Outside The Head are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in Lana Turner and Held.
See more of his work in 9.3