The lighthouse keeper

when it rains

i sit on my porch under the awning

and watch grey torrents come down

the wind picking up

i light a match and see the rain put it out

then try again

like my pop must’ve done

when he lived in a lighthouse

before he married my nan

living in a lighthouse means you heave responsibilities,

heavy up the steps, all 3 hundered and 17 of them

to light the lamp even when it rains, especially when it rains, when

it storms, especially when it storms

like being a man he would say as he mowed the lawn

or fixed my bike or patted my head, and a woman someday, he added

its all about lighting a match and keeping it lit in the rain even when the wind blows in sideways

so that you can light an even bigger lamp

and guide the ships home

especially when it rains