On Water’s Edge – Poem JK.Leahy©

We sat on water’s edge in silence

Crystal stream trickled and meandered, thirsting for sea salt in the wide ocean while we sat numbed and immersed in our own murky feelings

Unspoken was the truth tangled in our thoughts, so it captured pure silence, a tension like knotted threads

We were almost our real selves; caught in a delicate pause like dandelion in a still breeze, but who would own up?

Mine was she – brave, open and shy and his was him – awkward, tough, and yet vulnerable. Unwinding threads, already knotted

The timing was perfect, but words failed to arrive on time. Perhaps lost in the forest or evaporated into thin air, spoken words had left us

And once more the breeze passed, springing every dried leaf into living cartwheels, as if warning us to open up

With the debris our true feelings escaped, gone! The truth remained in its secret place, untouched, and settling to collect dust once more

Futile words jumped out of our mouths like aliens in rehearsed scenarios and ritual conversations

Soon, we were no longer afraid; once we leave this water’s edge, we will be other people again