Rain on warm stones, a scent I know
Salt in the seams of my old coat
The lamp hums low beneath the sky
I watch the dark along the shore
I left the lamp on through the night
Till seagulls woke in morning light
My oilskin hung beside the door
Damp boots sat on the kitchen floor
The tide brought shells across the sand
And seaweed tangled in my hand
I watched the boats become small sparks
Then fog erased their separate marks
I smell the rain on warm stones
And taste the years beneath my bones
The old sea beats against my door
And rolls its salt across the floor
At dawn the gulls stood silver still
Above white walls beneath the hill
A fishing line rang out like glass
A bright red buoy was rolling past
I smell the rain on warm stones
And taste the years beneath my bones
The old sea beats against my door
And rolls its salt across the floor
The rain arrives on stones I knew
Its clean salt smell cuts steady through
The years have passed in wind and rain
This body carries home again
The engine stopped beneath my hands
Old diesel settled in the sand
Rain freckled every windowpane
And ran in little roads to drain
I packed my compass in the tin
Beside my brother's faded ring
The empty hooks refuse to move
I'll leave one lamp beside the door
I smell the rain on warm stones
And taste the years beneath my bones
The old sea beats against my door
And carries me where I once lived before
The lamp hums low, the rain runs free
The warm stones keep a part of me
I close the door without a sound
The old sea takes me with the ground
