View From A Lighthouse

by | Nov 26, 2004 | Poetry | 0 comments

Great sentinel of venturers…guardian of the foolish…
Protector of the reckless…supporter of the adventurous…
Blessed beacon shrouding the imperilled in a cloak of enlightenment
From that, which at first may seem benign,
But which is also unpredictable in mood.
Deceptive demon…
Promising something calm and clement and smooth…
Swiftly turned into a terrifying, raging, violent motion…
The voluminous, foaming swell
Becoming awesome in its intent to treachery.

You know your place…you know where you stand.
Only for you that spot on the bleak and exposed promontory…
Not for you the warmth of the city.
Your signal fades to nothingness in the light-infested metropolis…
Lost amid the myriad torches…
Unnoticed among the flame and reflections.
Lacks utility on the desolate moor…
When your light serves no benign purpose…
Deceiving those who are drawn to you,
Into thinking that the crooked road is straight.

In your element on the ferocious, surging, windswept reef
You remain standing.
Prevent you the cherished from being perished
Within a dark and deceptive force…
Which lurks unseen for the unaware.
In times of danger you put yourself in the face of peril…
Taking the full brunt of the force.
Your guiding light is a sacrifice of your own comfort and security…
For the sake of humanity
In the face of the profanity heard within the ocean’s roar

Like the human soul which has experienced pain,
Others benefit from your distress…
As your beacon’s warm and friendly light reaches out to those
Oppressed by rage…torn by anguish… tormented by helplessness.
What you have done to merit this…
It matters not…you where just there…witness to the event…
Compelled to do something.
Your lonely vigil keeps others at bay…
Rather than drawing them near…
Telling them to keep away… not to draw too close.
When all is calm turn those sojourners to you…
You who gave them your time…
To view your structure and your strength.
But as even the strongest lighthouse must eventually fall,
In vain your struggle against the tide
Will eventually be overcome by nature’s force…
And the legacy of your loneliness and sacrifice
Must be passed on to those
Who come to understand your perspective…
And what eventually must be

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