False Dawn Poem by Gerard Heathcote

The sea is boundless to infinity
Awakened in the half light of dawn
Skimmed by a shallow wind
Whispering spray in a rainbow cloud
Made of faint yellow rays

Dawn is the bringer of hope
The sky slate blue bounding
The sea’s horizon in pencilled shades
A scene set in anticipation
Points to another day

Out of dream’s shadows
For reluctant eyes, sun beams
Pierce the endless night
Painting a grey canvas
With bright yellow light

Shadows creep on gentle waves
Passing clouds white
Against a sky of fading stars
The sun arcs a pathway
Clearing night’s memories

Is it here or there, the dawn mist,
Lingers over the valley of doubt
Of another day of little conclusion
Our feelings in diffused confusion
Hope in the bright shades of sunlight

We are filled with the optimist’s heart
The sun will bring morning glory
We take shade in the beach café
Anticipating, waiting, for the sun’s zenith
Longing for fulfilled dreams

But the damaged heart knows
Gathering clouds thicken and swell
With the ocean’s river fed bounty
An horizon full of promise fades
Washed away, another false dawn