Cold Wind

Many years ago, this day,
As lingering clouds
Brought out the morning rays,
I heard the east wind drown
In the sound of the ocean spray.

She came in nightly
On a foaming swell,
Lady floating lightly
On a seaborne shell.

“Oh bury me not
In the deep blue sea;
Oh bury me not
Where the cold wind flees.”

I carried her home
For miles and miles . . .
If only I’d known
It was just for a while.

The words unsaid, undone—
Gone before our time had run.

The whispers ceased
As her lips turned blue . . .
And in the dark distance
A cold raven flew.

For Death has always his shade
As the light begins to fade
In the smoke that’s now her face,
A wind that leaves no trace.

And I persist . . .
But across the sea
She lingers like a mist
In the western breeze.