Arrival of the Lighthouse Keeper

The old wooden rowboat creaks,
Waves whisper against the hull,
Where a lone dreamer sits,
Blindfolded and anxious.

A great disturbance breaks the silence,
Something immense rising from the dark water.
The black-scaled body of Grimvael,
The Serpent of the Dreaming Sea,
Circles the tiny vessel.

An enormous green eye breaks the surface,
Fixing its gaze upon the dreamer,
Who cannot look back.
For a moment,
The sea falls still.
Then the serpent dives beneath the waves,
And with a gentle thud,
Its mighty tail nudges the boat onward.

Far ahead,
A tall white lighthouse gleams,
Moonlight shining upon its weathered stone.
At its summit,
A turquoise beacon turns,
Casting its light across the sea.
The startled dreamer’s hands tighten in his lap,
Unsure of where he travels,
Or what awaits beyond the darkness.

Yet the boat continues,
Guided by unseen currents,
Until at last it reaches the shore.
As the keel settles upon the sand,
A quiet realization comes over him.

Perhaps the fears he has carried for so many years
Have not been steering his journey at all.
And in the wake of Grimvael’s passing,
A strange reassurance remains,
That everything may yet be well,
And that his journey,
Though uncertain,
Can continue.