a delicate beauty along the shore

the sky hangs over her
and the waves come near;
and the delicate beauty walks alone
pensive, self-absorbed
and distant by the shore

what is in your mind
pale beauty?
do you sigh over wasted time
and the pain of distance shores?

what is in your heart
fragile beauty?
has your wandering love
not returned and the days are past
and have rolled into months
and yet no news has come?

you walk like a child
and leave footsteps on the soft sands
and the waves eat every trace;
and you disappear
and we cannot find you again;
but we know
just as waves return
you’ll come back the next morning
to walk silently and alone
along the shore
of your quiet pains