He was last seen…edit0.0000001 john

[Grace]

Through the salt-cracked, creaking boards,
sea seethes below.
Round the storm-scoured, rust-crust rails
wild west winds blow.

On the tight-turned switch-back swell
a skewed skiff slides,
disappearing in the troughs
of tearing tides.
 
In the dim of dying day
a clay cloud cleaves.  
Sunlight side-slips through the grey;
dread darkness leaves.

On the pier the public peers
to scan the scene.
No one is there, the ocean bare;
he was last seen….

tectak2015 Lingua in maxillam

Hi Tectak - just wanted to say two things about this piece. One is that the use of hyphens works well in showing the see-saw rhythm of the boat on the waves. The other is that wild west winds bugs me a bit because I'm picturing the Wild West- as in Indians firing arrows at the boat. However, nothing wrong with that (!) as it could be just me. I enjoyed the read of this, thanks. Grace.