Now, Morning
Among a thousand tourists, three-deep
And more along the shore of Key West,
We watch the winter sun perform, setting
At the advertised time while someone
Plays Amazing Grace on bagpipes,
Plaintive for a few dollars and change.
Those closest surround us within such
Solemnity that my wife says the bagpipes
Are wailing Taps as if the sun were
A flag being lowered like a coffin.
Just now, eyes forward, everyone agrees
Upon the vanishing point, applauding
As if, without our acknowledged awe,
The sun will refuse tomorrow, dissolving
Us with darkness in this low-lying place
That the brochure says is paradise,
The sky clear, the water, in the direction
We are facing, appearing endless.
*
Gary Fincke’s latest collection is The Necessary Going On: Selected Poems 1980-2025 (Press 53, 2025). His most recent collection of new poems is For Now, We Have Been Spared (Slant Books, 2025).
Terrific poem.
Elegant, perfectly crafted poem. Thank you. I admire Gary’s writing.
Great poem!