Walk with me

Walk with me

Stand ankle-deep in a rolling sea

Foaming and pulling

The rip of rough sand

Scouring sensitive skin.

Delight in the struggle to remain

In one place,

I will take your hand

We will laugh together,

Losing our balance,

Falling onto our knees.

The voice of my mother

Ringing in my ears

From a past, long gone

When I ran across an empty beach

Uncluttered

Free of doubt

To plunge straight into the sea

The joy of it.

The freedom

From dangers yet to be faced.

Unsullied

By self-doubt and recrimination.

Innocence is an easy cloak to wear

Until it has been cast off

When it becomes formless

And impossible to re-purpose.

If only we could remember

How to begin again,

There would be celebrations.

Whole countries, even continents

Would form new coalitions

Government for the people

With no room for self-interest

Or empty-eyed figures

Loitering in darkened lobbies

Wielding brown envelopes

With a wide smile

And no accountability.

We can be tossed into the ocean

Invigorated by the turbulence

Resisting the tug

The pull back into the deep

Refusing to acknowledge

Our weakness in the face

Of such power

Excited by the presence of fear

The rush of pleasure

As the water recedes

And we kiss.

There is so much life

In such a moment,

Would that it might end

As tides are bound to turn,

It is within their power,

All we can do is light a beacon

On a lofty hilltop

And welcome the change.