Lighthouse

Norah Head flashes on the horizon

As if reminding,

Even in absolute darkness

Hope is not very far

It is there: burning, flashing,

Crying, so often

But the sailor has to watch

All along

For a drop of light

On the eternity of emptiness

 

For this, he has to know

He no longer treads

In the deep, dark sea

But that he has come this close

To the headlands of his home

If he feels not

This proximity,

There is nothing to look for

There is no lighthouse

That can bring him home

 

But if he does,

It is not the fear

Of loss at sea

But the overpowering love

That pulls too close

That it runs aground

The freedom of his ship;

The love that leaves not

The tendrils to leave

That you can return someday

 

 

Somewhere between

This loss and love,

The lighthouse blinks

On the edge

Of seas of emptiness;

And the sailor comes home

Just enough

That the scars are healed

Knowing well, new cuts wait

In his choice of love, and liberty….

 

11^th September, 2025

 

The lines above were inspired when I was sitting on an open balcony at the Entrance, overlooking the sea, with the Norah Head Lighthouse flashing all night at one edge of the horizon.

A series of ships en route to Newcastle were waiting their turn to load and unload, all the while being hypnotised by the lighthouse reminding they were so close to land.

Cover Image: Author's archives, Norah Head Lighthouse as seen from Blue Bay