Lighthouse Keeper

 The sea will be my wife

As I watch over her day and night.

The winds will tease my salty beard

While she loves, torments, tosses, kills,

Dazzles.

 

Following my light to safety,

I will guide pilgrims through the night,

Entrusting them with my wisdom

From the tower of solitude.

 

I will know the seasons from the stars' glistening reflection

Upon the ripples,

And I will measure time

By the coming of the tide,

On the rare occasions that the hour matters.

 

The surf bashing the stony shore

And its sullen spray will remain

For days, months, years,

Always the same

And I will stay here, alone and in peace.

 

In the ocean's wrath,

Lightning will be my guide

And thunder, my Truth,

As I write page after page

Of poetry that nobody will ever read.

***

(Minneapolis, MN -- February, 2018)

A while back, I thought it would be fun to do a series of cheesy, over-the-top poems based on Romantic clichés. This is one of those poems. Is this poem original? No. Is it written using modern line breaks and tone? No. Do I like this poem? Yes. That's why I'm putting it here.