Waves

Buried, with Death my only friend

Grit clogging my eyes and nose

Stuck in sucking depths of sand

Confused footsteps traced behind me

Ahead nothing but ghostly fog

A viciously cold gust blows in

My last breath is lost in its fury

A wave crashes upon my head

Choking, I gasp and sputter

Just more violence from the storm

I brace for another and another

I fear not many more I can stand

Though perhaps I am already dead

And this my judgment rendered

Another wave, different though

In its salty backwash a revelation

My once deadened eyes and ears

Now freed of sand and seaweed

Hear and see more clearly than ever

Is this a spark of hope perhaps

Or just one last bitter tease of life?

Yet another wave, same as the last

Ebbs away with a powerful undertow

Sucking away sand and detritus

Baring my shoulders to the wind

And my heart to its roiling madness

God, let this not be just one more

Mocking cruel temptation of Fate

More waves, stronger and stronger

As each recedes I am transformed

I tear my hands free from the muck

To touch and feel, and thus to live

Playfully, I grab an elusive handful

Of the bitter, yet refreshing brine

And slap it into my laughing face

From a thousand miles away

Or perhaps a thousand years ago

Welling up from a magical fount

In the mysterious ocean of life

More healing waves roll in upon me

Washing over me, warm and pure

Like a mother cleansing her child

At last, I stand naked and unashamed

My unearthed legs and feet free

To dance to the primal tidal music

Of crashing waves and hissing surf

A timeless and deep force of nature

Has washed away my sorrowful bonds

And the uncertain footsteps behind me

The primal music beckon me like a siren

I dive into the next wave in ecstasy

To be embraced by something wonderful

That only my soul can comprehend

The playful, tumultuous foam whispers

Be still, my lost and troubled child

My name is Audrey, and I will save you