I saw a gleam from the sea tonight
The storm had come on without warning
A black shadow sweeping away the sun
Like a great curtain being drawn across a window
Obscuring the golden light from the room within
The wind whirled the sea into a frenzy
Foaming as it pounded the shore with heavy blows
The anchored sailboats flew like pieces thrown from a chessboard
Upended by a child outraged at a frustrating defeat
But a single light pierced the darkness and reached the shore
Maybe a lantern hanging from a beam or a lamp shining through a porthole
At times it was obscured by the storm,
The curtain threatening to smother its feeble glow
But it shone through the darkness like the eye of a prisoner
Peering at the moon through a chink in the wall
Clinging stubbornly to tomorrow