ALPHABET OF LOVE

Denial

20 The Alphabet of Love DENIAL Perhaps, it was foolish— All this futile floundering Across a frozen ocean— One thousand three hundred and thirteen Strokes of denial, Each fear compounded By the unreachable shore, The absentminded tide And the lure of exhaustion. . . So far gone then— What was I to see? I felt myself failing But railed against the dreadful Unknown below me. How many fellow souls Had perished from reckless faith Just when their trial began? I would not belie The intrinsic nature of man, This pact handed down— Father to son— An unbroken line Unmarked by time. I was still treading hope Until my limbs floated no more And salt bathed my eyes. Bart Edelman 21 Ultimately, a carpenter fish, The most beautiful and sacred In all the sea, Caught me in its delicate jaws And pulled me under. But if I went for food, So much the better; No life remains lost Where purpose bows to grace— Surrender its own reward. ...