I Saw The Light

By Andrew Harley

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse by APTM

Perched on the edge of a pine-studded bluff

On a chunk of sea-worn granite rock;

I make my way inside the candy-striped lighthouse,

To see what things look like from the top;

Feeling like an old light keeper,

Climbing-up the long spiral staircase;

I proceed towards the glass lantern room,

As a circular breeze brushes my face;

Its bull’s-eye lens and huge prisms are enchanting,

As I watch light rays refract all around.

You really cannot perceive its orchard of colors

While just glancing at it from the ground,

Sweeping the surging sea with her one big eye

She’s been a beacon for a slew of ships.

Helping a many mariners to make their way home

From some venturous ocean trips;

Once outside, and on the catwalk,

It’s hard not to get lost in the view.

With the broad sun dissolving into the horizon,

It makes a breathtaking golden hue.

Looking over the railing to down below,

I see frothy swirls from the pounding waves.

There’s just something about an age-old lighthouse,

And all the romance that it portrays.

This poem, along with 61 others, is available in Andrew Harley's book

"Till the Dreaming's Done: Poems Crafted for Thinking People"

The book can be purchased here