I took her hand
and helped her climb
into the squalid pile
of hand-chopped wood
bound by trust and stuck
together haphazardly
to form our not-so-seaworthy
vessel of complacence

when she was situated
I handed her our only child
to place over her shoulder
as she held him with one hand
and tickled the water
with her other

I joined her in our raft
and we set sail
for a place
only she
had
in
mind

The journey was long
and arduous

Days of blistering sun

Nights of blistering cold

His mood changed as often
and as drastic
as the temperament of the tides

Patience was a passing virtue
but with me it remained
fed by the hope that soon we would
come to our utopia she had promised
me so long ago

On the last day
when mutiny appeared to be
inevitable
A bird flew overhead
a sure sign
that land must be near by

We ran aground
with our bodies burnt, frozen,
battered all at the same time
yet he was happy as could be
as he looked into my eyes

We walked along the beach
hand in hand in hand

This was our place
This was our time
This was our family

That night, we slept
under makeshift shanties
basking in the ever-diminishing
scope of a fire fueled
by our trust-bound float

I was awakened by the feeling
of my son's breath against
my neck
as he rested, nestled in my arm

At the same time, I felt
an overwhelming

sense

of

abandonment...




She was gone...

I... we...
looked all over
calling out her name
over and over and over and over
until my lungs felt
as though an impossible
cancer had just suddenly appeared
and eaten its way through the tissue
in only the matter of
hours I spent searching

She was truly gone...

What was I to do?

Our boat was burned
His mother missing
But at least I wasn't alone

For what and why she disappeared
would remain a mystery
for as long as the waves
lapped at the sandy shores
removing bits and pieces
and carrying them outwards
as they apparently carried
the only person
I've ever loved

before him

The only thing I could do
was build this fortress you see
before you

To protect us from this kind
of insurmountable pain


The emotions of an army
Are packed inside my head
Abandonment the enemy
Whose life I've all but bled

Around my tiny island
Fortified and grand
Turrets on the hillside
And landmines in the sand

If you [Log In] as a member you can discuss this work with others