The Maiden and the Sea

The maiden lived on the sandy shore
Of petulant and stormy main,
And while the ocean brought her woe,
Her innocence could shake the pain.

Her neighbors in the village small,
Had always feared the deep,
But still they sailed and still they fished
Upon the rocks so steep.

Then, sorrow came to the little town;
The water of the sea had risen
And trapped the people on the isle,
Unable to escape its prison.

So by the fire they decided
What their path that day must be.
Scared, the maiden cast her eyes
Upon the roiling of the sea.

She followed them onto the beach,
Her hat, with feather, firm in place.
The maiden followed all her elders,
Keeping steady with their pace.

One by one into the ocean;
Don't look up and don't look down,
Looking straight to the horizon,
Do they worry that they'll drown?

Step by step until the water
Is the only ground they feel.
Hands relaxed and arms akimbo,
Brush the waves as cold as steel.

Ten millenia have ended
In these seconds crawling past.
Does she know she's but a feather,
Soaked and bent, a broken mast?

Soar the seagulls, high and lonely;
Flies against a bleak visage.
And maybe mermaids stir the brine,
Seaweed dark their camoflage.

But for us, the story's told;
The maiden's in the stormy sea.
All other details matter not -
Is this how she'd planned it be?

Eyes no longer on the line
Dividing heaven and the main,
But downcast on the murky depths;
Devoid of joy, devoid of pain.

And arms outstretched, and lips apart,
As if they could draw in a breath,
As if she'd had some final wish
To speak before she met with death.

Beside her, women, men, them all
Have sunken too against the waves.
Are they satisfied, at last,
Are they peaceful in their graves?

The maiden, calm, and still with sleep
Surrenders willingly her plea.
Forever closed upon her face
Rolls gently on the silent sea.

August 22, 2005.