The Fall.

I stood under the moon last night
And was reacquainted with that familiar glow;
Blanketed in a sea of white glitter
Where the tide was pleasant, and as sailors
We plotted our course by constellation.
It was warm, our journey protected
In woolen sweaters buttoned up to the neck
Until the spray of the sea kissed us
And adventure tore open our jackets,
Billowing our tails in a trail of
Prevalent uncertainty and infinite trust.
We held hands as our ship buckled and groaned
Through storm or evaded the plunderers
That posed threat against our stronghold;
But we did not fear. We had each other,
Through thick and thin.

In the midst of all that glitters
From a sea once so well navigated,
We came to that fall over the edge of the world.
It's just a fall, I said to myself,
Nails splintering the wood of the railing.
It was nothing that we could not handle ...
Until the bow slipped over the edge
And the moon's pale face cast forth the sorest
White-out I'd ever encountered, like a gasp
As sharp as a knife and quick as a blink.
I did blink.
And in that second before reality swallowed
The countless voyages and infinite trust,
I saw you standing on the bow.
Jacket tails billowed out behind you
As I watched you release the rope that would
Tether you to the mast safely.
Clutching onto the buttoned neck of
My jacket and the wooden railing that had
Never betrayed me before, I cried out to you.
You did not respond.
The moon swallowed us.

When I step out onto the sand and cast a glance
Skyward toward that pale orb,
I am always reminded of us.
I ball my hands into fists, trying to seize anger.
But it never lasts; I do not know at whom
I should be angry.
After all, who betrayed whom?