Original DDE™ art: “Ol’ Dockman — I & II” by: rob kistner © 2/15/26
—-<§>—-
along the edges
of a broken pier
at settling dusk—
the tides return
what storms have torn apart—
a scatter of floating debris
jaw-bone-white as tusk
bump in murmuring winds
—haunted voices
from the ocean’s heart
in the winds and time
the wooden dock
has come to tilt—
its planks and beams
made tender by the brine—
I kneel in grace to stitch
its splintered seams—
once carefully built…
I taste the salty mist
sharp as a tine
old ropes lie coiled
like tired ocean beasts
asleep on land—
their frayed fibers swollen
dark with tar and rain—
I slowly slather pitch
with careful hand—
to seal the wounds
caused by endless tides
and their tugging strain
beneath the orb of moonlight
the harbor turns a silver white
and this shattered vault for ships
will be once again made whole and tight
<~>
rob kistner © 2/12/26