The sea is on nights. br The horizon is an empty factory floor, br If you step outside br You'll see the day shift. br br Pass the night shift br On the second shore, br The lights from the airport br Stream across the bed of the ocean br br But someone has missed the bend for home. br They kept going br Till they could go br br No longer. Stand at Annie-Come-Ashore br You'll see the ship grounded br Like a Casino at Ballincar, br Love, with all its lights on. br br And in the third house from the left br I'm stuck high and dry br In a fiction that won't end br And a love affair that ended. br br Like the stranded Poles I'm waiting br For the high waters of late September br To make me buoyant again, br To fill each side of me, br br Till then I'm here br Unable to carry on. br Mark me on the second beach br Waiting for the pilot br br Or on prom at night, br Watching the silent gulls in a gale, br Hundreds, falling in one behind the other, br Just above the water, for hours, br br Steadfastly.