Along the Quay
A Promptoberfest poem
© 2023 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by :icontegerio:

Prompt:  pier

At a certain port there lies a quay,
Marking the margin of land and sea;
The quay stands there still, still straight and tall,
Against the sea’s strife, it forms a wall.

Women will come and they walk along
This quay, all standing up firm and strong
Against the weather, despite the flow 
Of summer’s rain or in winter’s snow.

I saw her there, one bright springtime day,
A woman in her best, happy, gay,
Waiting for her loving sailor mate
And praying that he would not be late.

Yet late he was, for the fickle sea
Through storm, or wave, or mere jealousy
Did wreck his ship, and so took him down
To trackless depths, far from the town.

At a certain port there lies a quay,
Marking the margin of land and sea;
At ocean’s edge she’ll stand and wait,
Weeping o’er her lonely, bereft state.

end