At Least

Raymond Carver

I want to get up early
one more morning
before sunrise.  Before the birds, even.
I want to throw cold
water on my face
and be at my work table
when the sky lightens and
smoke
begins to rise from the
chimneys
of the other houses.
I want to see the waves
break
on this rocky beach, not
just hear them
break as I did all night
in my sleep.
I want to see again the
ships
that pass through the
Strait from every
seafaring country in the
world –
old, dirty freighters
just barely moving along,
and the swift new cargo
vessels
painted every color under
the sun
that cut the water as
they pass.
I want to keep an eye out
for them.
And for the little boat
that plies
the water between the
ships
and the pilot station
near the lighthouse.
I want to see them take a
man off the ship
and put another up on
board.
I want to spend the day
watching this happen
and reach my own
conclusions.
I hate to seem greedy – I
have so much
to be thankful for
already.
But I want to get up
early one more morning, at least.
And go to my place with
some coffee and wait.
Just wait, to see what’s going to happen.