Seawall
Life’s troubles, external and inevitable like an earthquake
I sit on the shore and know it is only a matter of time
Until a tsunami hits – unforgiving and devastating
Nowhere to flee, no time to get there, I wait
Resigned to my fate I watch the water leave
Borrowed by the sea only to be returned in anger
Ahead of the tide a wave of sadness breaks over me
My stoicism fails me and I cry out
A small, sad sound, tiny and piteous
Above the clamour and the uproar
Keen ears hear my feeble sob
A predator’s reflexes spur mighty muscles to bunch and flex
One powerful leap and before me stands the Hunter
He pounces and for a fleeting moment I am stunned
How could the universe be so cold?
Face in shadow, his chest towers above, his claws close around me
And again I resign myself to my destruction
The tidal wave hits then
It’s leviathan strength crashing and swirling
My final act of futility, I hold my breath…
I must've started breathing again because that is all I hear
Slow steady breathing
Then I hear my heart strong and rhythmic
Then another sound, rapid, a humming bird’s wings
I gasp for air!
My breathing ragged and desperate, like a thirsty dog
A moment of clarity then
I am the bird, I am the dog then who?
I open my eyes I didn’t know were shut
The steady breath the strong heart the face in shadow
The pain on his face a mirror of my own
Another wave hits then, of relief
Washing away my sadness
And the mirror smiles, relief in symmetry
The waters drain away and he holds me safe
Sleep comes upon me then
I barely hear his first words:
“It will be OK, you are safe, I am here”