Past the Waterline

I found your blue coat by the harbour gate

Still carrying the scent of salt and rain

The ferry pulled away at half past eight

And left your name inside the window pane

I held a ticket you forgot to take

Until the paper softened in my hand

Some goodbyes arrive before we wake

Some promises are buried in the sand

If you can hear me past the waterline

I'm still the man who waited by the pier

The tide keeps taking pieces of our time

But every turning wave brings you near

And when the evening settles on the bay

I say your name

And let the silence stay

The old café has painted over blue

But left the crooked table by the glass

I sit there when the afternoon turns through

And watch the fishing boats come slowly past

I've learned the heart can carry what it breaks

And make a home inside an empty room

The years move on but neither one erases

The shape you left beneath the afternoon

If you can hear me past the waterline

I'm still the man who waited by the pier

The tide keeps taking pieces of our time

But every turning wave brings you near

And when the evening settles on the bay

I say your name

Then let the silence stay

Perhaps you're somewhere under warmer skies

With someone who has learned your every scar

I hope He knows the mercy in your eyes

I hope He holds you gently where you are

If you can hear me past the water line

I'm not afraid of all the years ahead

The tide may take the foot

But not the tender words we never said

And when the first light opens on the bay

I'll keep your name

Then turn and walk away

The harbor gate is quiet in the rain

The sea goes on

And I begin again