Gulls
Fearless riders of the gale, In your bleak eyes is the memory Of sinking ships: Desire, unsatisfied, Droops from your wings. You lie at dusk In the sea’s ebbing cradles, Unresponsive to its mood; Or hover and swoop, Snatching your food and rising again, Greedy, Unthinking. You veer and steer your callous course, Unloved of other birds; And in your soulless cry Is the mocking echo Of woman’s weeping in the night.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on August 25, 2018, by the Academy of American Poets.