This town this stain
on the sunrise
Disguised in the mist
this morning
It's 8AM a seagull shouts
a sailor's warning
This sky this bend
in the river
Slows down and
delivers me
the tide rolls back
And all my memories
fade to black
And yet and yet
I'm back
This town has a strange
magnetic pull
Like a homing signal
in your skull
And you sail by the stars
of the hemisphere
Wondering how in the Hell
did ye end up here
It's like an
underground river
or a hidden stream
That flows through
your head
and haunts your dreams
And you stuffed
those dreams
in this canvas sack
And there's nothing
round here
that the wide world lacks
And yet and yet
You're back
Some nights
I'd lie on the deck
and I'd stare at the turning
of the stars
Those constellations
hanging up there
from the cables
and the rigging
I'd wonder
if she saw the same
or managed to recall
my name
But why would she ever
think of me
Some boy she loved
who fled to sea
And why waste time
debating
whether she'd be waiting
for the likes of me
So ye drift into port
with the scum of the seas
To the dance halls
and the brothels
where you took your ease
And the ship's left the dock
but you're half past caring
And ye haven't got a clue
whose bed you're sharing
And your head's
like a hammer
on a bulkhead door
And it feels like somebody
might have broken
your jaw
And there's bloodstains
and glass
all over the floor
And ye swear to
God ye'll drink no more
And yet and yet
In truth it's too late
to find her
Too late to remind her
at some garden gate
Where a servant tells me
I should wait
And perhaps
a door's slammed
in my face
My head must be
in outer space
And yet and yet
Before the sun has set
Before the sea
There may be
something else
that's waiting for
The likes of me
This town this stain
on the sunrise