This starless night the ocean heaves itself
to pieces on the rocks,
the coastal highway slicked with spray.
There is a shadow within the sky’s mirror
that one tells oneself is nothing,
is fatigue or strain.
There are pauses in the ocean’s roar
when one can almost see the voices,
spectral amid the breakers.
But the roar returns and one is blinded,
staring helpless into black.