The Ocean Cries

Rainfall woke me, but the benevolent deities heard my heart’s cry. The gods of wind and sky blew away the clouds, leaving a crystal dome for the sun’s rays to glint on the waters. I return to my mistress, the sea. My heart was lost to her as a child, and I never wish to regain it.

Slowly I make my way to the water’s edge. The dunes sink beneath my feet, leaving what seems to be an indelible mark. But it is an illusion, for nothing here lasts. As I tread the shore, trailing footprints, I reflect on my impermanence. I leave my mark for but a while, soon to disappear in the unceasing tide.

The sea erases the sins of man, and I come to be cleansed. I hesitate, needing to be washed but fearing the sting. She knows this, and rushes to greet me. The baptismal font flows, washing me, drawing out the stains. Anger, regret, heartbreak, all flood away in the tide.

I stand on the shore and weep

for Beauty and Joy
for Laughter and Friendship and Love
for Finding and Losing
for Hoping against hope
for Acceptance

I have left my mark in the lives of some. In time it will fade, only a memory and faint. I will be gone, as swiftly as my footfalls are washed away in the tide. But one day another young woman will come to the shore and weep, and she will find me there. For my soul belongs to the sea, and I will find my final rest there.

© 2006 pac611