His hands still knew the lantern flame
The sea had chalked another name
He walked where gulls along the rail
And salt rang bells beneath the gale
At midnight fog began to creep
Wet heels tapped the weather-beat street
A brass key knocked against his palm
The rain ran warm across the calm
A ghost lamp flickered through the gray
He turned his back and walked away
He left the tower to the gale
Watch hands swung wild behind the rail
The gulls cried far across the pail
And rain wrote rounds on rusty stiles
Warm stones unveiled a hidden gold
He bent and listened as it told
The rain fell warm on harbor stones
And woke old echoes in his bones
He walked beneath the breaking skies
With salt and thunder in his eyes
The rain fell warm and called him home
Past foam-white cliffs the gray sea roamed
He climbed the path the rain had stained
Warm rocks breathed deep through every vein
He left his key beside the sea
And watched three waves drag out the key
His empty hands felt light and clean
And every gull had somewhere been
The rain fell warm on harbor stones
And woke old echoes in his bones
He walked beneath the breaking skies
With salt and thunder in his eyes
The rain fell warm and called him home
Past foam-white cliffs the gray sea roamed
He stopped beneath the old brass beam
Rain ticked softly, stone by stone
The sea withdrew but not alone
He felt the old lamp in his chest
Like harbor light against the coast
And every shadow found its rest
The rain fell warm on harbor stones
And woke the years beneath his bones
He turned toward the breaking skies
With open hands and steady eyes
The rain fell warm and called him free
Past foam-white cliffs, the sea rolled deep
The harbor brightened stone by stone
A gull called once, then flew alone
The path grew warm beneath his feet
He left the rain to wash the street
Then climbed the hill toward the light
And carried shore inside his fist
