I walked toward the ocean after dark.
Awful, terrible power!
I heard a whisper of a thought and remarked,
"I won't walk into the ocean."

My old lust for death was on the mist.
Lightning cracked the midnight sky.
I trembled as my feet still stepped,
knowing I was free to try.

What darkness like a storm awaits!
What fear, much more than pregnant thoughts
and a soul just healing but still lost!
What awesome, heartless power, could choke me home!

I turned and left sooner than I'd hoped.
The crests of fearsome waves still hissing
like the serpents that linger in my blood.
What awful, terrible memories of the flood!

I will not walk into the ocean.
I will walk on sand and stone and grass.
And when the darkness finds me lonely,
I will think of death, but only think.

07/18/2024

Posted on 07/18/2024
Copyright © 2025 Ryan Nardi