The Lost Coast

early November north of San Francisco
 driving fast to find you
 I feel familiar winds that usher in each evening heavy on the mountains
 rest clouds left there since morning
 you always said
 "there's just no other place"
 a sign nailed to a redwood signifies arrival "welcome to the Lost Coast"
 my mind begins to wonder
 it was here we lost each other
 shifting to a low gear
 as I start on down the mountain
 I know now
 those were the times of my life
 1989 was a dream in a dream
 we straddled the thin line between
 what it means or it seems to be
 sure enough we left the world behind
 it reminds me now
 how precious and how delicate
 the hairpins come more frequent
 each turn extending to the edge
 without a barrier
 I feel my stomach sinking
 whatever you've been thinking
 nine years all but vanished
 now it's nine miles to the ocean
 and shelter cove
 where we found a night
 and now I see that night
 as a dream in a dream
 the fire flickered calming light
 oh how perfect it seemed
 to be yours alone in such a distant place you faced me and you whispered
 "this is wonderful"
 later on at the lighthouse
 we were warned we should be careful
 by waves that shot above us
 we were told there was a hurricane
 that came ashore each evening
 I still carry the picture
 that I took while you were sleeping
 too hard to look
 just then I see it again
 the ocean through the clouds
 like a dream in a dream
 all the houses down in Shelter Cove
 how much smaller they seem
 was I really wise to improvise
 and return to this scene
 1989 just a dream in a dream
 I can only hope this Lost Coast can remember so I turn my car off
 I can almost feel you here