Night Watch

The lighthouse keeper doesn't choose the weather Just the hours, just the stairs The lamp turns whether ships are coming Or the harbour's bare A radar sweep finds nothing But it sweeps again Three AM and the tide Is at the mark The high-water line Drawn in the dark Night watch Night watch You don't watch because you can change what's coming You watch because watching Is what the living do Night watch Night watch Still here at the glass When the whole world sleeps through The beam cuts through the fog and back A circle without an answer The sea knows something about patience That the shore forgot The instrument reads normal But you read it twice Three AM and the wind Has a new voice The kind that doesn't give you Any choice Night watch Night watch You don't watch because you can change what's coming You watch because watching Is what the living do Night watch Night watch Still here at the glass When the whole world sleeps through And maybe nothing comes And maybe everything does But the vigil isn't waiting The vigil is the love Of being present When it's easier to close your eyes The lamp turns The sweep finds nothing The keeper climbs the stairs again