The Sea

He carries the weight like a large rock,
Heavy on his shoulders.
Painful and almost unbearable.
He cries and groans and tries to keep going.

But it’s so hard,
It hurts so much,
And he’s so tired.
His knees begin to give,
As he walks with the weight,
of the pain and loss,
pressing down on him.
So much pain.
He swallows it down,
Forces himself to keep going,
To move on,
To move through.

He’s fine.
He always is.
He can do it.
He can push through.
Even as the weight,
threatens to crush him,
Even as the grief,
tries to swallow him whole,
Even as walking becomes harder,
And moving becomes a chore,
He can do it.
He has to do it.
But, oh, the sea calls his name,
And he so badly wants to walk in,
and let the weight push him under,
Let it drown him.
He thinks it would be satisfying,
The silent stillness of the sea.

He thinks it would relieve him,
Of the burden he carries.
Of the loss he shoulders
And maybe,

He would let the sea swallow him.
Let it wrap him in that blanket,
Of stillness.

Of quiet.
He wants that,
more than anything.
He thinks it would be so easy.
He almost walks into the sea.
But then he doesn’t,
He keeps moving.
And over time,

The weight becomes a little less cumbersome.