Signal Hill

Parting Gift #2

Signal Hill 

Something worse than Igor made the Atlantic 

Distance is a badly kept secret 

Like someone with their eyes closed crying

The water must stop, you swear on it, 

But from the shore it's a big blanket,

Wrinkled, blue and infinite 

And you imagine that it will taper off

And you think of the land it leads to

The only thing from Elementary School history 

That I've kept with me is Signal Hill 

I imagine the relief that Marconi felt 

When that message came through 

The nerve to send blips from telegraph 

To telegraph, across that pond! That sea!

And it worked!

Yeah, now we have cellphones 

SMS, I've got a great roaming plan

Ten dollars a day, maybe we'll talk 

Tonight, maybe tomorrow 

I've got a bit of money saved up

I'll spend it all on this waiting

We can take our time 

It's just cash burning

That's all

That's really all. 

Author's Note

Painting by Jean Claude Roy,
Dedicated to whatever science carries my voice across the ocean.