Evening fades

Evening fades;
both boats and ducks
are headed home to roost.
And so begin the soft familiar sounds,
the clatter and the clucking,
the murmurs and the rustling
of a family settling in,
a boat tying up;
of birds, shifting in the nest.
Shoulders,
tensed against the wind and tide,
drop now, and nestle
each to each for warmth,
and for companionship.
Light falls, the dark descends,
and hearts expand to hold the light
until the dawn returns.