Van Der Graaf Generator

(Hammill)
The wave hits the beach, writing words on the sand;
to the academic man, this could be the answer....
In fact, it's no more than a hunch.
Still we try to eat it -
I think we're all pretty out to lunch.
The wave is out of reach,
trailing words from the hand
only air can understand.
Semaphore on the shoreline,
waiting for distance to recede, unhappily imperfect
when we should be happy just to breathe.
But with each bated breath,