A Final Gift

A Final Gift


As before, pacing the shore - now the only footprints are mine.
Reeling in the memories,
they fight me like some leviathan;
they struggle, shrieking against the daylight of my consciousness.

My reverie broken,
a shining sliver of light bobs in the foam;
the schussing music of the tides
quiets as time holds its breath.

The container retrieved,
the fading light reveals a shadow dancing in its interior;
a wish, a prayer, a lost hope entrapped within.

Pain shoots through me.as the gossamer image of her,
eyes gleaming with hope, dances before me
as she sent her messages into the unknown.

My shaking fingers wrest the top free,
peeling back time's layers like the parchment of an onion.
My eyes begin reading the faint, bleached words.

An Ocean of Dreams

The moon inhales
pulling the sea to her breast
revealing her silent secrets.

A moment in time,
a moment of peace.

The placid ocean
embraces my dreams.

Inadequate words written
in a soul's ink with trembling hands,
laid gently on creation's bosom.

May these dreams find a home
in caring hands;
may they touch a loving heart.

The words burn with recognition
in my mind, in my heart.
The final verse comes back, sung in the voice of wind,
written in shadows by the dancing grasses...

May you share my dreams and heart
in the stillness, before the world awakes.

With these words –
her final words – echoing, my eyes blur.
Her wish had come true.

An entry for Round 57, "Shadows and Light Poetry Contest" 
Prompt: Open
Form: Free Verse
Line Count: 40