TABLE ROCK

Its an early Easter Sunday morning and its sprinkling as usual and I didn't sleep a wink last night and I thought since I'm up ill just take a drive up to Table Rock . It's a plateau where you can see for miles all around.Its a well known place for all the locals around, but for all the wrong reasons coined suicide point. At night you can see this point from all over the valley just look north above the city skyline and you'll see a cross that shines bright in the night sky.This hand made cross was donated by the families of all the suicides victims that happen around there, 17 in total and one was a  dear friend of mine. I make my way through downtown with little or no traffic this early Easter morning and around the back side road leading up to table rock. The first thing you notice is a feeling of sadness in your whole being as the road twists with turns on your way for about a half an hour. Once you start coming to the top of this plateau a feeling of peace comes over you and the sadness dissipates as you drive up closer to this cross. To many deaths here and I only wish that this cross was here before their lives were sadly taken it would have given them love and comfort that maybe lives were lacking.I get out out of my car as the rain begins to pour and within seconds I'm drenched as I walk closer to touch this cross and begin to kneel as I  speak from my heart to my lost friend. ''I'm sorry for not being there in your time of need but your in much better hands now and in a better place''. I stand up and gaze down at the valley below and I feel very thankful for the people I have in my life to share my joys and sorrows. I make my way  back to my car as the rain subsides and a break in the clouds allows the sunlight to appear and with one last glance before I leave the point, I only wish table rock stands firm in our lives and suicide point will eventually fade away and never begin again as long as this cross stands as our beacon of light in our darkest hours of our lives....

Reviews

[barleygirl]

Very haunting vignette with a nice balance of sadness & hopefulness. You've used a good amount of visual detail to help the reader see everything as your little pilgrimage continues. I wish you would stick to first person ("I/my") rather that switching to "you" for a little while in the middle. Also, there are quite a few grammatical mistakes such as in first few lines: it's (needs apostrophe, becuz it's a contraction of "it is" - 4 places) . . . and "your in better hands now" (from the speech by the cross) -- you're also needs an apostrophe becuz it is a contraction of "you are" . . .

The strongest aspect of your message is the way you are suggesting an inner faith that's all-encompassing, despite the cross being a symbol of Christianity, I feel your message of hope is written to include all people, regardless of their style of worship. This makes your piece more relatable & not a turn-off to those who believe differently. You're making it a message about humanity, not Christianity, which I very much like about it.