Waiting on the Shore

Icy September water

Sighs softly as it kisses the shore

Pitch black from the touch

Of a tense, starless night

The water swirls, rolling, undulating,

Lapping at my feet

A breeze rushes by

Lifting and tossing my hair

So it can touch my neck;

Soft, exposed, and vulnerable

Leaving a sinister whisper in my ears

A secret I can’t quite decipher

The sighs of the black lake

Become impatient, steadily louder

Till the ripples are roaring waves

Crashing and dissipating at my feet

The foam weaving through my toes

The water beckons

A temptress whispering promises

That my frozen ears can’t quite hear

The gentle weeping fingers

Of a kind-spirited willow

Carefully brush my shoulders

Perhaps to hold me back

From the inviting waves

But as the breeze runs through

The willow’s long silken hair,

Perhaps instead it’s pushing me forward

With a comforting smile

There’s something gathering

On the hazy, shadowy horizon

Of this black October lake

It’s advancing across the roiling water

Coming into shore

But in the depths of midnight

I cannot identify this approaching mass

‘Neath a sky of dark October clouds

The black lake rolls

The chill breeze comes and goes

The willow whispers

And I remain at shore

Waiting.