Charts once ruled by straight blue veins
Soften into wandering estuaries.
Compasses relearn hesitation,
Turning slowly toward bird logic.
Buoys hum lullabies to drifting kelp,
Marking borders between patience and tide.
Former shipping lanes host migrations
Of lanternfish and quiet research boats.
Warehouse ledgers dissolve into tide pools,
Recording inventories of shells and salt.
Dockworkers become weather readers,
Unionized with fog and moonlight.
Harbors practice generosity with distance,
Sending empty vessels filled with seeds.
Journeys are measured in returning currents,
And maps annotate themselves with bloom.