The Earth Moves

It's for the best

The earth moves more slowly than the sea
which swells and roars and trickles on the shore of the deserted beach when she stands hand in pocket
heart in mouth
The waves entice her into their depths
But she resists.
Too dark
Too deep
Too full of unknown creatures teeming beneath the surface.

So she stays rooted to the spot
As sea gulls swirl above her head and cry out
'Come away, come away'

But she doesn't come away
She stands
Eyes closed
Breathing in the air that is both her lifeline and her agony.

To embrace the arms of the waves
would be so easy.
To drag herself back to the car and return home
So hard
So very hard.

In the end she does neither
She curls up like a foetus in the womb of the evening sand and sinks deeper and deeper into its icy warmth.

And that is where they find her
Still clutching his note
Now sodden but still just readable.
'I'm sorry' he had written
'I really am

But it's for the best........'