He stands silently looking seaward, <br />Perhaps longing to be free? <br />To be free from land's firm clutches <br />To roam the endless sea? <br /> <br />Perhaps he's just a dreamer? <br />Staring at a peaceful tide. <br />Or was he once a surfer <br />Dreaming of huge waves to ride? <br /> <br />There's a sadness in his staring, <br />Looking neither left nor right. <br />Standing on a lonely boardwalk <br />From dawn to late at night. <br /> <br />His suit has seen its best of days. <br />His shirt unbuttoned at the top. <br />There's a pride - Yes! There's a longing <br />For his looking never stops. <br /> <br />Does he see his early youth <br />On a Merchant Navy ship? <br />Did he fish the deepest oceans <br />On each fraught, each dangerous trip? <br /> <br />Did he lose his dearest love one <br />In a battle with the foam? <br />Or does he spend his lonely hours <br />Wishing that the sea was home? <br /> <br />There's an ocean full of questions <br />Which he would think absurd. <br />There's a sea so full of answers <br />Which never will be heard!<br /><br />Joe Hughes visit joehughes.org.uk<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-old-man-at-the-sea/
