31/08/2024
Can You Hear The Rain
In the quiet of the night, where shadows softly creep,
An old man stirs from restless dreams, from memories buried deep.
His mind a fragile tapestry, threads frayed and worn with time,
He wanders through the corridors, lost in thoughts sublime.
The rain begins its gentle song, a whisper on the breeze,
He feels the pull of distant days, of long-forgotten seas.
With trembling hands, he opens wide the door to night’s embrace,
And steps into the silver rain, with moonlight on his face.
The clouds obscure the lunar glow, a veil of misty gray,
Yet still he walks, a ghostly form, through puddles in dismay.
Each droplet tells a story, each splash a fleeting dream,
Of days when life was vibrant, of love’s enduring gleam.
His footsteps echo softly, a rhythm to the rain,
A symphony of solitude, a melody of pain.
Yet in the night’s cold silence, a spark of hope remains,
For in the rain’s soft murmur, he hears forgotten names.
The world around him blurs and fades, a canvas washed anew,
As memories and raindrops blend, in shades of silver-blue.
He walks into the night alone, with moonlight as his guide,
A lonely old man seeking peace, where dreams and rain collide.
The rain’s soft patter on his skin, a gentle, soothing touch,
Awakens distant memories, of times he loved so much.
He sees the waves, the endless sea, the ship that was his home,
A sailor’s life, a wanderer, forever meant to roam.
He sailed through storms and sunny days, through waters calm and wild,
Yet always in his heart he held the faces of his child.
His wife, his love, his anchor strong, who waited by the shore,
He sent them letters, gifts, and gold, but seldom so much more.
The years went by, the seasons changed, his family grew and thrived,
But distance cast a shadow dark, on bonds that once survived.
He missed the laughter, missed the tears, the moments small and grand,
And as the tides of time rolled on, they slipped like grains of sand.
His children grew, his wife grew old, their lives a distant song,
He watched from far, a silent guard, as time moved them along.
The letters came less frequently, the visits even less,
And in the quiet of the night, he felt the emptiness.
Now standing in the rain alone, he feels the weight of years,
The echoes of a sailor’s life, the joys, the doubts, the fears.
His family, like the rain, has slipped away into the night,
Leaving him to wander on, beneath the pale moonlight.
The rain becomes a lullaby, a song of days gone by,
A sailor’s tale of love and loss, beneath the endless sky.
He walks on through the silver rain, with memories as his guide,
A lonely old man seeking peace, where dreams and rain collide.
The rain still falls, a constant friend, as he returns once more,
To the house that once was filled with love, now empty to the core.
The windows dark, the doors ajar, the silence speaks of loss,
He steps inside, his heart a stone, his soul a heavy cross.
His wife, his children, all are gone, their laughter now a ghost,
The echoes of their presence here, the memories he holds most.
He searches through the empty rooms, their absence like a knife,
The sailor now without a ship, adrift in stormy life.
His job is gone, the sea no more, his purpose lost at sea,
He knows not where to turn or go, his heart in agony.
With nothing left but memories, he sets out on the road,
A hobo in the silver rain, with nowhere left to go.
He wanders through the towns and fields, through cities vast and wide,
In search of those he loves so dear, with hope as his guide.
He asks of Edith, Gord, and Pam, in every place he stays,
But time has taken them away, like mist on rainy days.
The rain becomes his constant cloak, his shelter and his song,
A sailor lost on land’s vast sea, where he does not belong.
Yet still he walks, through night and day, through sunshine and through rain,
A lonely man in search of love, to ease his endless pain.
His journey takes him far and wide, through seasons and through years,
A hobo with a sailor’s heart, a soul that perseveres.
And though he finds no trace of them, no sign of where they’ve gone,
He carries on, with memories, and rain to lead him on.
In Halifax, a sailor’s mission, Pam finds her father there,
An old man lost in memories, with silver in his hair.
She takes him to a quiet home, where he can rest his head,
A place where he can find some peace, a warm and cozy bed.
She visits often, talks to him, of days both old and new,
But slowly, surely, memories fade, like morning’s gentle dew.
His mind drifts off to distant shores, to seas both wild and free,
A sailor lost within his dreams, upon a boundless sea.
Pam watches as her father’s eyes grow distant, far away,
She holds his hand and whispers soft, “I’m here with you today.”
But time has taken its cruel toll, his mind a foggy haze,
And soon he’s lost in dreams of old, through endless nights and days.
One rainy night, he wanders out, beneath the silver sky,
The spirits in the clouds above, they watch him passing by.
They guide him to the Land of Seas, where sailors find their rest,
A place where dreams and memories, forever are the best.
Pam stands beneath the rain-soaked sky, her heart both sad and true,
She whispers to the empty night, “Can you hear the rain, old man? I can hear it too.”
And though he’s gone, she feels his love, in every drop that falls,
A sailor’s tale of love and loss, within the rain’s soft calls.
Copyright by Donald Harry Roberts 2024
