That's Why She Cried

She stood three feet from the precipice above the sea,
The frothing waves that beat against the sea cliff
Wailing and roaring something fierce in the noon of our eclipse
Meeting. She stood, and with tears in her eyes,
Began to sing softly. I couldn't make out the words
Above the fury of those waves far below, but the lament
She sang was familiar enough.

It was a song that, like many songs, had been written
Long before her time, our time, a song about songs
Carved out on the emotional fortitude that comes
In the wake of surviving the turmoil of the spirit
As it sets down the pattern played out on the nerves whose
Commands we have no other option other than to obey.