Time

Clenched, hunched,
Jaws clamped tight,
Brow, twisted with bitter intent
Summon bits of strength against
The rolling flow

A treacly wave that threatens to
sweep you over that edge.
Not so far away,
You can see it, just there.

You struggle to stay strong,
Planting your feet, quivering
Exhausted thighs braced against
a wave filled with broken furniture,
Cars and homes and people,
Crashing past.

The horizon disappears,
That great divide between
what is and what is not,

Breathe faster, work harder
Suffocating more, there’s
always more and more.

The tide lifts you skyward,
picks you up and sets you down,
To where you can’t remember.

On the beach, exhausted.
Gritty sand beneath your cheek
Your skin thin and wrinkled
Breathing short and shallow
And still you fight
to push it back, 
as it laps your toes.

Let time be your steed,
A milk white mare
Get on, hold tight and ride. 

Her muscles bunch and stretch
Her forelegs reach and paw the miles
Hindquarters sink, deep into the earth

Your body floats,
your arms reach out, to
bury your face in her rough mane
and ride.

Your calves grip her sides and your feet try to meet
She leaps forward, you nearly slide off
Her silken rump,

She slows and you find your balance once again
And ride.

Her fine head tosses, eyes rolled back
She’s coursing ahead,
You laugh
And let your heart leap forward with her.     

Time is a steed,
A milk white mare,
Hold on tight
And ride.