One long, low tone

pierces the night

A hollow, lonely drone

repeats, repeats —

a metronome

marking time

closes the mile gap

between water’s edge and me

The mournful sound

charts the slow progress

of a ship blindfolded

by a greedy fog that pockets

the rocky coastline

”I am here.

Are you there?”

“I am here.

Are you there?”

Call and response

I worry for the crew’s safety

until drone drifts into dream

EMILY-SUE SLOANE grew up in Glen Cove and currently lives in Huntington Station. Following a career in publishing, she has put her energy into writing, yoga and appreciating the natural beauty that lies beyond our crowded roadways and shopping centers. Her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies, including Amethyst Review, Avocet, Bards Annual, CHAOS: The Poetry Vortex, Front Porch Review, Shot Glass Journal, The Suffolk County Poetry Review, Trees in a Garden of Ashes and the forthcoming Never Forgotten: 100 Poets Remember 9/11 and Corona. For more information, please visit her website at EmilySueSloane.com.