Waves – daintily – hug this boat,
This boat that
I rock on slowly.
The breath of life whispers advice
Faintly in my ear.
Untold stories ripple
Through the restless water of her soul.
A lost sailor,
A withered rose. I listen
To the ignorance of others.
No one stops to understand-
Understand this wounded wonder
Begging acknowledgment.

Her screams of pain go unheard
To all but the quiet lonely girl.
Me.
I understand. She stretches her arms out
Each day
Each night
She retreats each time no one responds.
Her pain is felt, just not by us.
Barnacles left dry,
Starfish frying
Crying out in anguish

She teases my toes
Stinging them with frigid skin
She bites because the lack of touch
Has driven her wild.
One step
Could start the fragile bridge
Of recovery,
Recovery to forgiveness.

The ocean sorrows,
She wallows in her grief
As we display her as vicious
We are cautious,
Alert,
Yet naïve,
To her beauty, her heart, her soul.
She reaches for us
But we choose to ignore
Content to stay in our material world.

Before it is too late
I sit, and hope I can soothe away
Some of the twinges of pain
That wrack her body
Sending explosive tears
Which burst on rock and sand.

I comfort from this boat,
This boat that
I rock on slowly.
Hoping I can serve as a shelter
For her pain
While
This ocean sorrows.