Down by the river

Down by the river
The slight quiver
Of the breeze
Sent her hair dancing and with ease
Her foot stepped one in front of the other.
She didn’t bother
To look up or down.
Neither smile nor frown
Caressed her face.
With grace
She moved, slow but sure
To find not a cure
But an end to it all.
‘’Tis no fall,’’
She said,
‘’to float under the river bed.’’
For she could not swim
But stared at the rim
Of the water’s end
To whom she would her body lend
For all of time’s rest; soon,
At midnight’s call for the moon.
She heaved a sigh
With tearstained eye
That bore mere stare
Without slightest of care.
Gone they were,
The memories, a forgotten blur
Within her mind
Where she had confined
Them for so long, so many a year
For fear
They might cause hurt and pain,
A barricade in someone else’s lane.
And then one day
Without a second’s delay
Or a moment too soon
She silenced her life’s tune
And turned around to see
That there was no more room for her to be,
That she had vanished, gone away,
That her body could no longer stay
In such a state.
So she took Fate
And held her head up high
And pleaded not with earth or sky
Nor with the gods within.
No sin
Was there
For her to admit; it was only fair
To dispose and let go
Of the things that hurt her so,
Of the people who would not see
What kind of woman she needed to be.
She had loved with all her might.
She had joined every fight
Worthy of her cause and belief.
She had consoled every grief,
Lent a hand to her dearest
And nearest
To her heart which now had no pulse left to beat.
This was her defeat
And victory in one.
She could finally be undone.
To hell with those that took her as bait
Who were now too late.
May they live on their own.
May they be alone.
May they cry
When she will die.
Lost in thought
She had walked into the water she had sought.
Wet and cold against her skin
She felt a fin
Brush by her ankle, fine.
She opened her arms in acceptance of the powers divine.
She lifted her face
To the vastness of space
And closed her eyes
And whispered goodbyes
To those who could not hear,
To those who were not here.
She kept on
Hearing the song
Of the rippling water below.
Its flow
Guiding her towards the deep,
Towards eternal sleep.
Her breathing slowed,
The moon above glowed
Its white shine serene
And unseen
A hand appeared behind her,
Made the water stir,
And pulled her out to land,
Laid her on the sand
Where she heaved and shook
And dared a dampened look
At the one who came
Who showed no signs of blame
But showered her with tender embrace
And caressed her trembling face
And then, inside her awoke
With each precious stroke
A new hope to strive
For the joys of being alive