Beachcombing

Reluctantly I wait,
Is the tide to bring my fate?
Destiny, bound up in mystery,
Will the answer come too late?
Compelled to search the shore,
I’ll stay,
Upon it’s crop of clues,
I’ll prey,
Deposits of this taunting wave
Which pulls back more than it leaves.

A treasure may appear today,
Or will I have to sift and wade
Through scraps, and common everyday
Shells, and clinging barnacles,
Seaweed, gnarled and tangled,
Dare,
I pry apart?
And risk a tear.

So, reluctantly I wait;
Waves crest high as foam and spray
Lash forward,
Then shy away,
My wild heart anticipates,
My chest echoes like a cave,
I dread this unknown wave,
That brings the fear on watchful days
Of coming far too near,
Forgetting,
Failing to obey,
The laws that bid it to recede –
Its grasp will reach too wide –
Nothing will be saved.