There Is No Grey Exactly Like

There is no grey exactly like
that which ocean houses wear
on sunless days.

Salt wind has no business with
these walls we made,
long since cleaned of color by the storms.
Instead, it strips the paint
from beaches, sky, and waves;
and gulls,
dragged like brushes past the clouds,
barely tint the quiet with their toneless brays.

When we are down to grey,
we still have this
shingle, sea, and street,
simple and concrete.
What is left survives.

September 25 2010