-Robert Gibbs
Whatever the lighthouse means flaring round
off-beat with the foghorn
miking its connections and disconnections
in this watery envelope
where black-backed gulls work their wings
indifferently it seems
in either element and the herring weir
makes thin lines and crosses
a Japanese virtue or virtuosity of restraint
where crows in a tough row of willows
mark the tide's edge by out-hoarsing
the gulls
and rotten dulse and salt steam on through
musk of steeplebush
and wildrose perfume and spruces on the point
have their backs bridled up for good
against all winds
Whatever three ships mean
two freighters and a tanker
standing off Partridge Island
more like scanned-for presences
than anything really out there
(I saw three ships come sailing in
come sailing in singing itself
off-season off-key)
Whatever the fine grading means
of every weight of gravel by the tides
coarse and round at the edge
an even band of sand between and broken flak
up to the tideline