Lanterns

My heart is an anchor,
And all the sea around it
Swirls, but does not stay for long.
To this port of call
I bid a fond farewell.
There will be more ports.
More bright lights
And fresh food, fine friends,
Nights of dreamless sleep.
More of the lady with the jet-black hair
And her brilliant smile.
I suspect I shall not forget this sea.
Around each port the salt has a different flavour,
The water a different temperature.
Here I could swim until my limbs fell numb.
But the sea does not belong to me,
And I cannot capture it between my fingers,
Like a desperate lover clasps the sand of the shore
To his heart,
Wishing to live in their moment forever.
Forever vast and forever complex,
The sea will never truly be mine.