“The Lone Swimmer of Sandy”

He stood alone against the storm,
A silhouette in the howling dark,
The winds a rage, the waves a swarm,
And in the deep, the ocean’s mark.

The hurricane tore through the night,
But he was there, a man alone,
In the face of death, he did not fight,
For he knew it well, the undertone.

Five days in the chaos and roar,
A swimmer in the grip of fate,
He pulled the lost from raging shore,
But the ocean whispered of a weight.

Each life saved, another soul lost,
The storm, a grave with a bitter song,
He heard their cries, the hollow cost,
And felt their touch, the suffering long.

He saw the dead, the faces pale,
Their eyes wide open, caught in fear,
The wind howled like a mournful wail,
A song that echoed far and near.

Alone in the surge, with borrowed time,
A hero whose name was never known,
He faced the storm, no thought of crime,
Only the duty, to bring them home.

He waits now, on the edge of the dark,
For the storm to come, for the call,
For he’s lived on borrowed time, a spark,
And when it’s gone, he’ll answer all.

The water’s cold, his body worn,
The weight of lives, the countless lost,
Yet in his heart, he’s still reborn,
A man who paid the ultimate cost.

He walks now in silence, head held high,
The ghosts of Sandy at his side,
He knows one day, he’ll answer why,
But for now, he lives to survive.

A lone swimmer, with eyes of steel,
Facing the tide, and death’s embrace,
Living with scars no one can heal,
Yet still, he moves with quiet grace.