Dawn breaks slow on salt worn planks
Calico paws trace quiet ranks
No whistle blows no engine sound
Just gulls and tide on dirty ground
I speak to Armeria clumps
Its blooms rise in salty lumps
Roots hold fast in crevice deep
While the cat disturbs their sleep
Calico dawn on ferry dock
Tricolor ghost ticks round the clock
No ticket needed no fare to pay
Just hunting shadows gray on gray
Crithmum stands on wave washed stone
Rock samphire claims this zone alone
I whisper Latin to the leaf
Cat pauses grief in brief relief
Calico dawn on ferry dock
Tricolor ghost ticks round the clock
No ticket needed no fare to pay
Just hunting shadows gray on gray
Plantago spikes the morning air
Sea plantain grows in harsh despair
Roots drink brine from brackish sand
Cat prints mark the shifting land
Calico dawn on ferry dock
Tricolor ghost ticks round the clock
No ticket needed no fare to pay
Just hunting shadows gray on gray
Silene cups the salty spray
Sea campion greets the new born day
Five white petals soft and small
Cat ignores the floral call
Calico dawn on ferry dock
Tricolor ghost ticks round the clock
No ticket needed no fare to pay
Just hunting shadows gray on gray
No ferries come no horns declare
Only wind and salt in air
I kneel in mud where Spartina grows
And watch the calm that silence knows
Atriplex spreads its silver shield
Sea purslane covers dune and field
Cat sits down to wash one paw
Dawn light paints the iron jaw
Calico dawn on ferry dock
Tricolor ghost ticks round the clock
No ticket needed no fare to pay
She'll hunt the shadows through the day
Calico dawn is here to stay
Paws on planks the dock is hers
Latin names and salted purrs
