Salt And Memory

On this shore before the dawn
Hands on wood worn smooth and thin
Pushes out to meet the tide
Engine low, the day begins

On the other shore before the dawn
Hands on wood worn smooth and thin
Pushes out to meet the tide
Engine low, the day begins

On this shore he drifts out slow
Motor fades and water breaks
Nets uncoiled and cast in arcs
Trust the sea for what it makes

On the other shore he drifts out slow
Motor fades and water breaks
Nets uncoiled and cast in arcs
Trust the sea for what it makes

Sun comes up the same for both
Burns the mist from off the sea
Different words for what they ask
Same old work and same small need

Salt and memory
In the rope and in the skin
Salt and memory
In the places we have been
Ships go by like moving walls
Never hearing either call
Salt and memory
Same for me and same for him

On this shore he eats alone
Bread and fish and bitter tea
Diesel on the morning air
Salt and heat and open sea

On the other shore he eats
Bread and fish and something warm
Fuel and salt upon the wind
Counting days between the storms

On this shore he knows the time
Sun and shadow mark the way
Turns a little where he stands
Lowers his head above the spray

On the other shore he knows
Time has come the same as this
Faces where his fathers faced
Quiet words upon his lips

On this shore the engines pass
Giants moving through the blue
He looks up and tracks their wake
Like there's something they all knew

On the other shore they pass
Black against the burning sky
He looks up and wonders still
Who they serve and drifting by

Salt and memory
In the rope and in the skin
Salt and memory
In the places we have been
Ships go by like moving walls
Never hearing either call
Salt and memory
Same for me and same for him

On this shore the daylight fades
On the other shore the same
Water keeps no mark of lines
Only men who give them names