Fanal In Retreat
The lighthouse shivered in relentless gales on its rocky foundation
Stood the test of time but now it seemed that the clock had gone back
The keeper was sidelined to retire in the Sea Mission’s Nursing Abode
Had paid his fare and was reduced to cups of tea and mushy pea’s gruel
Once a pacemaker of modernity he quietly waited for dementia to settle
His heart was broken like the tower’s shattered beacon and Oliver sobbed
Tears flooded his kerchief with salty reminders of his ultimate companion
Waves of infinite tides swallowed his reason for being in cascades of pain
Cataracts pointed him inside with hearing aids hinged on precarious sight
The fragile walking stick had been bestowed by the Queen God knows when
At least that was his yarn which would not repair his threadbare cardigan
The callus on his weather worn hand had meta-morphed in soft baby skin
Be a good boy now and take your sedative pills they will rock you to sleep
Slowly fog horns of destiny sounded a creaky lullaby of reticent surrender
Once a trendsetter in dashing uniform and seafarer’s wind shaken attire
He could not even turn a famous blind eye to his room mate’s flatulence
But like clamshell lenses on a leap water catwalk he stood firm in defeat
Oliver’s lantern seemed vacant but a passionate fire kept raging his mind
Had they no respect for history had he not been the guardian of passage
Was he a spiral staircase with only one way to stumble on rusty descent
The counterweight well powered by gravity sunk like an anchor cut loose
Lightening rods flashed through his thoughts and he still could not sleep
But the night nurse had more important matters than ancient emotions
Pillows scratched his receding hair as the moon kept count of lost slumber
Once a bell whether of transit the old man felt the graveyard shift nigh
He wished he was a pirate and would sink his hook into pitiless crests
11th February 2020
Copyright © Kai Michael Neumann | Year Posted 2020
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