Night

I walk the dog late at night,
around the streets
until we stand on the prom
looking out to sea.

You can see for miles,
the water black and still.
Emptiness where the town ends
and the sea begins.
Lights of the houses behind
and if you're quiet—

sounds you can't actually hear
like the clock ticking on the wall,
a TV flaring in the dark, kettle hissing steam...

Sometimes there's a kid with a skateboard,
no cars, they rarely pass by at dusk,
and a ship dancing on the water,
not quite an island
but beckoning, as islands do.

Arriving or leaving - grey ghosts
rising on the swell
like messages in the air.