• Miracles

    I believe in miracles

    Trust your heart,
    If the seas catch fire,
    (And live love,
    (Though the stars walk backward.)
    With a cold wind,
    Rushing through the spans,
    Florio Ferrente saved another mans life.

    A mist shrouded the ground,
    Muffling the sounds of the world,
    As Charlie, Sam, and Oscar,
    Huddled in the damp and dark night,
    The gloom was gone,
    And the light had almost encircled them.

    The forest of shadows,
    The last undeveloped section,
    Of the beautiful town of Waterside,
    Was the place where Charlie St. Cloud worked.
    It had been their ritual for thirteen years,
    And their secret too!
    Every evening they came together (Sam and Charlie)

    The day was gray as granite,
    The ground soggy from a night of hard rain,
    The woman in the black dress wept,
    As Florio Ferrente said goodbye.

    The flags on the wharf,
    Whipped in unison,
    The corners of her eyes and mouth,
    Flaky with dried salt,
    The splashes of purple and pink painted across they sky,
    were signs of trouble.
    As Tess spoke the words,
    “Nana, can you hear me? Nana?”
    No one would listen.

    Charlie let go of the rope,
    Flying through the air,
    Holding his breath just to land in the cold water.
    He had to watch time,
    As though Tess wouldn’t wait for him if he was late,
    Not even for a minute.

    It was midnight in Waterside,
    Thick fog oozed between the monuments.
    As if Charlie fell under a spell,
    He led Tess to the middle of the cemetery,
    And told her she was right about Sam,
    Sam watching his every move,
    Listening to every word.

    Bobo galloped,
    Like a dog possessed,
    Down Devereux Beach.
    Tess violently called for him to halt,
    Yet no one heard her,
    Not even her dog.

    The ocean had never looked so massive,
    Whitecaps streaked the horizon.
    Tess’s body would have to be found,
    Or she would die for good.

    Would you ever leave Sam?
    He had a stitch in his side,
    His lungs ached as he had the thought of risking Sam.
    He had to save a life, not a friendship,
    He told himself.

    Sam was wind,
    He became godlike,
    Whooshing across the Atlantic,
    Skimming the wave tops,
    Sam was free.

    Charlie hated the ER,
    For, Tess was in critical condition,
    Was Tess’s spirit here now?
    Or was she alive?



    I quit,
    The last closing time,
    The last zoom around to collect old an elderly gentleman.
    Charlie left,
    And soon after,
    Charlie’s ability to see spirits faded as quickly as Sam did.
    And yet the greatest blessing of all,
    Charlie and Tess were starting over.