Stagnate

Stagnate

 

I watched a child today as he swayed

on the sands of the bay,

picking up scatters of seashells

that freckled the white gravel.

 

He came to his knees,

quenching his soul in the water,

dancing to the music of sea

while the sun drenched him in warm rays;

and his heart galloped wildly,

like the movement of the tide.

 

Yet as the moon began to blossom,

the strength of the tide rose.

His parents became pregnant with furor,

scolding him, driven insane

by their inability to explain why he wandered,

why he strayed, why he couldn’t sit

like all of the other children,

merely watching the tide drift.

 

They fed on the tree of his spirit like fire

until they threw their towels around their necks

and told the boy that the sun would soon set.

 

As they slithered from the shore

the boy looked back once more.

His face once sketched in innocence

was erased; covered by sadness, age-

So instead he chose to wear indifference.

 

I felt the change inside the child.

I held onto his light that flickered,

but there was nothing I could do.

The sun set and he began to fade,

the water of blackness drowned him,

spitting on his passion.

 

I cried alone as the stars

thrust their shine into the sky that night,

falling hopelessly before me,

still dangling wildly- but only dimly.

Reviews

[mir]

I could feel the innocent boy's sadness as the sun was setting and he walked away from the beach with his parents. Your writing in describing these detailed events is outstanding and creates a very clear motion picture in my head as I read each line. Fantastic poem---I like your smooth style of writing.

[Greg Skura]

As a child I never wanted to leave any place. For what will I miss when I turn my back and go to sleep. Thank you for reminding me!

[MuSe Ampoule]

wow great work! A piece of the loss of innocence as described by leaving the seashore. I remember always hating leaving the water growing up...lake, ocean or river...didn't matter. I loved being in the water. Now that I'm older I find it no longer holds that fascination I once had for it. This piece really spoke to that for me.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Grandmere always said there is healing in the sea...so whenever any hurt in life comes along you must take it and go to the sea... how sad this child's parents did not understand that.

[Cliff Rhodes]

...very observant, intuitive, and inspiring. Nicely written.

[.]

that's a sad story ..the innocence of childhood is something to behold, they have such an untainted view of life, that is until society puts its mark on them ...