~The Shore~

The Shore

Sailing away into the sunset,

The gray sky overhead, rough blue water beneath you,

And you are capsizing around the waves,

Roaring around you.

Some drown you,

Some merely pull you down,

Others leave you restless,

And yet still others let you rest on top of them,

Only to drop you lower when they fall.

The sky turns crimson as you struggle in the waves,

And I am speechless, weeping on the shore,

Watching you fall over and over again,

As all those waves keep crashing against you.

Time after time, you think they will raise you up,

That they will deliver to the shore,

But rather, they beat you down, farther and farther,

Not caring if you survive or if you come out broken at the other end.

Though I am still motionless on the shore,

Unable to speak to you, to call out your name;

I have no power over the waves around you,

And the grey and crimson sky turns black, slowly but steady.

Soon the stars are out, the moon barely lighting the way,

And you are lost in the waves once again,

Each one building you up, then crushing you with its curse,

Abandoning you in their power,

Pushing you down and down,

And you only come back up shattered, broken and hurt.

I try to reach for you,

To grasp your hand and pull you into my safety,

But you will not let me,

Your grasp is slipping from me,

Your hand falling away.

If only I could pull you into the safety of the shore,

If only I could keep you out of those waves and all their power,

But I cannot, for I am unable to hold on to you,

To keep you safe upon the shore.

The waves keep you and you let them,

You let them toss and handle you,

In that dark, cold and rotten water.

But if I had the chance,

To reach out and grab your hand,

To pull you out of that hideous sea of water,

I would rescue you to the safety of the sand,

And keep you on the shore until all that’s broken is put back together,

And until you are strong enough to stay on that shore forever.

~Casey