WHISPERS IN THE DARK

WHISPERS IN THE DARK

"Get up, baby girl" the mother whispered
to the sleepy two and a half year old child.
"Be still, don't wake the family", she said,
"we will go for a walk", her eyes were wild.

Standing in the doorway, the six year old
was dressed, ready to go out in the night.
She waited impatiently, so eager to go
and see the world in the bright starlight.

Quietly, they made their way outside
and set out on their walk toward the park.
Moon and starlight made it an adventure,
Each listening for whispers in the dark.

Life was not all she had long prayed for,
abused and battered, she sought relief.
She had to somehow escape the pain
and was filled with bitterness and grief.

She had sought refuge with her family
but they didn't seem to really understand.
They blamed her for leaving her husband,
"Just return to him" was a strong demand.

In the morning they found them missing,
She'd taken the children out into the cold.
"What in the world could she be thinking!"
An unbearable tragety would soon unfold.

The police began to search for the three
and one officer spotted them near the river.
He called to the mother to come back but
her next actions caused his soul to shiver.

Waist-deep in the water, holding a child,
she steadied herself against a large rock.
The man in blue did what anyone would do,
went after her in an effort to get her to stop.

The news story came out the next day,
she had thrown herself and her little girl
into the raging waters, out of his reach,
as he watched in horror the water swirl.

Their bodies recovered and yet no trace
of the little six-year old girl was found.
She may have been the first one to go;
perhaps the first of the three to drown.

A bitter, haunting story, all too true,
of a small town near the river and park.
There are some that say that to this day
they still hear soft whispers in the dark.

Countrymom
4/14/08