At the Edge of the Cliff

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand. Photo by Evan Krause.

Dawn breaks through clouds
and the city below ripples in sunlight.
Amidst the tangle of breaths
and rasp of debris on skin,
we blaze over the landscape
with the fever of our eyes,

breathe in the briny tang
of the turquoise sea
bathed in crimson dawn,
watch the limestone lips
of the cliff plunge to meet
the sea’s saltwater kisses,
listen to the rustling of wind
echoing through sun-baked ridges.

The cliff, too, tells its own
stories of how the world
has etched upon it,
turning time and tide into
trails of jagged beauty.

We sit drunk in the glitter
of golden foliage
and feel the throb of
a new day, a new dawn.