Photo by Nick Kenrick
Sadness comes
the cresting of a wave
on a quiet beach
catching us unawares
like the sting of a wasp
on tender flesh
Sadness finds us
between rumpled sheets
though we smooth them out
a creeping vine with the stealth
of a summer wind
chilling to frost
Sadness slips
into the crevices of
nostalgia-burned memories
wrought on the wheel of time
when we feel small
despite the call of the future
Sadness blooms
with the full moon
under which careworn women
hang up their bloodied washing
toiling to stay afloat
and leave their mark
We are beating hearts
on the darkest nights
through the breaking dawn
each of us a story
waiting to be written
full of promise and pain