Sea Breeze

She still watched, every dawn, from the pier
as the waves rushed in
and the waves rushed out,
but the empty horizon stayed clear.

"I'll return," he had said with a smile.
Then he kissed her close
and she kissed him back.
"Watch for me -- I'll return in a while."

Now, nine months since he'd kissed her goodbye,
with his golden hair
in the golden sun.
Nine long months -- time to live; time to die.

She looked down at the babe at her breast.
His own child it was,
little child of theirs,
conceived just before he had sailed west.

"Little girl," she now said, "feel the breeze.
It's your dad's first kiss
your dear dad's caress,
coming in with the tide from the seas."