She was sinking.
Her lungs are still screaming for air.
She was one grief away from drowning.

They thought she was waving. 
They couldn’t see her face draining color. 
They couldn’t see the current beneath the surface.

Loneliness had become her soul
When she saw the shadow of the Hand. 
But she still can’t remember how to breathe. 

The sand is firm beneath her sandals.
The water has closed behind her,
Leaving her secrets with the starfish.

Maybe, the Hand was many hands,
Pulling her to the Shore.
Maybe they weren’t waving.
She was too busy treading water to notice.

The sun tips over the cusp of the earth.
Light is calling her to distant shores.
Breakers roll over the rocks with all the power of
A prayer.