The Rivers Edge

She stands alone at the banks of the River … Her face lifted toward the last Rays of the Sun. ITS WARMTH … ITS BEAUTY … fails to Heal … all the hurting, hidden places within. She is lost in a nightmare that never ends … She shivers and pulls her sweater closer about her, to hold off the cold … but the cold lies within.

Isolated in a place far from family and friends, with a phone that never rings … she remembers many things. The Hopes and Dreams not fulfilled … That she shared with a husband … long gone, selfishly following … dreams of his own. She allows her mind to focus on the Abuse down throught the years, the Hidden Tears … The Grief she could not … would not share.

What she might have done to stop the Tragedy … to stand up and face Reality … to Free Self and Family … of a Marriage gone wrong … this she could not do. That is the Sad … Unspoken … Hidden …Truth. Sunshine sparkling on still waters … Ducks paddling under branches low. Peace and Beauty at the Rivers Edge … as day fades slowly into the night. She stands … alone and cold … and Without Hope. When will she see … That the Answers are Within … As they have always been? (The gift of the abused, we should not condem)