The Way a Dock Waits

The way a dock waits

like a memory

for you to return to it.

The way it has weathered in the waiting

The way you recognize every stain, every marking

the particular lines and scars of each board.

The way it welcomes you

without reproach for your long absence.

The way it invites you, like a friend,

to study the water’s play,

the rocks beneath.

The way you remember this

until all else drops away.

 

Marianne Jones