Alien timepiece

I awake,
dimly aware of its vast presence,
creeping silently through the salty creeks
beyond the black frizz of trees.

The hairs on the back of my neck tingle
but whether it is fear or thrill
is hard to tell.

In the dark,
the sheer weight of its coming,
the magnitude of stately momentum,
bends the land, creaking the rocks
to perceptible shivers that even a worm might hear.

Alien timepiece coupled to the moon,
the tide ticks through the night,
ever later than it was,
crawling round the clock
to strange and awkward times
with steady and relentless pace
regardless of the rhythms of
the human race.

(c) A McN

Since moving to the coast the tide has become an important rhythm but it is so hard to keep track that a few days away leaves me edgy. I love the full flood Springs best of all. They gave me that same feeling of life's bounty that I get in the presence of puppies, children playing, spring days and pregnant women!

Laughing shell

(c) A McN
Shells are irresistable, the textures, the shapes and the clink of freshly crystallised minerals.

The language of water

Long after
the tide slipped silently into the night
the marsh is alive
with the language of water.

I listened in the darkness
to the trickle in the creeks
and the bubbles in the puddles
in the mud.

The water was all verb and adjective,
running, seeping,
quivering, shining.

From mud creek to salt flat,
liquid chat and murmer filled the air,
each creek a different dialect of sound.

I wished I had the wisdom
to know what every nuance meant
translating every phrase to physics,
chemistry and art..

but lacking understanding
I'm content to tag along
just to marvel
at the music
of the song.

(c) A McN