The Grey Mist of Dawn

This was the first poem I ever wrote. It was written right after I lost my family.

The Grey Mist of Dawn

 

In the grey mist of dawn

Near the shoreline of life

A man walked alone

His companion was strife

 

I approached him with caution

With his eyes deep and drawn

When he looked right though me

And then he was gone

 

As I stood there unmoving

He fled with my soul

Then the waves crashed around me

With my spirit in tow

 

Then those waves washed his prints

From the sands and from time

And I realized quite suddenly

That those footprints were mine

 

From up above bled a cloud burst

And it started to rain

On my cloak of concealment

And this dull veil of pain

 

I began running backwards

Up these sands known too well

Seeking shelter from this storm

Of my own living hell

 

I finally found refuge

Where happiness rings

Heard the songs of my children

Felt the joy that that brings

 

Through a window I saw them

And I shouted with glee

But they stopped laughing and singing

When they looked back at me

 

Then that window did shatter

In their eyes so supine

In it's place stood a mirror

But the face wasn't mine

 

T'was the man from the beach

All stoic and stone

Still walking on sand

Still walking alone

 

I saw a man walking

In the grey mist of dawn

"Life's a beach", he cried out

And then he was gone

Author's Note

This was my first poem ever. The pain was as stark as I'd ever written since, and set the tone for almost everything that came after it.