It is the first light of dawn and the air is bitterly cold.
No noises other than the sound of crashing waves can be heard.
A fierce north wind blows, sending white horses dashing across the sea.
On the rock strewn shoreline a traveller huddles behind ancient rocks,
hidden from the chilling winds in an attempt to keep warm.
Behind him, towering cliffs watch his every move,
their darkened form ominous and threatening in that half light.
Somewhere at the base of that dark entity lies the entrance to a cave,
a cave that will still be flooded by the dawn's high tide.
Patiently, The Traveller endures the storm waiting for clear passage there.
The sound of a seagull can now be heard above the shoreline's cacophany.
The Traveller peers through drenching mists, formed by Neptunes' necromancer,
and on the horizon he can now see the morning sun's glare,
in that instance he feels excitement and recalls again dangerous passage,
his journey to this new land.
Somehow, he braved that violence and survived.
His boat, a hollowed out tree trunk crafted by his own hands.
His journey over those wanton sea taking many days.
Without food and without water it seemed he would surely die,
but on landing on this shore, he discovered his first stroke of luck.
On the same tide that brought him to here also brought to him food and water.
A battered wooden chest followed him onto the shore.
Gratefully now, his stomach is full and his energy reserves built up high.
His strength ready now to propel him deep into a new land.
His eyes now watch a shining sun rise high onto the scene.
Then, in acknowledgement of that wonderous sight, the wind drops,
the air is now still and the thick clouds lift.
The Traveller gazes now at the obstacle that stands in his way,
cliffs that are no longer as threatening as they were but a moment before,
their entity not as solid as they first appeared.
Crumbling walls of chalk and limestone present themselves in the first light.
Without fear, The Traveller ambles towards them,
casually avoiding the razor sharp rocks and the seaweed strewn pools.
Soon, The Traveller climbs those very cliffs themselves,
and after much sweat and toil reaches their top.
He gazes now at the new land.
Flat lands with high mountains in the way off distance,
the brightness of the sun reflecting off the waterways of this land.
The Traveller notes with pleasure that no major obstacles now stand in his way.
He then sets of to explore with a steady and enthusiastic pace.
Matthew James 7th June 1994
