"Stranded"

Fuzzy is the border to this endless scene,

with its soft white sand and skies serene.

Filled with a flourish of sunlight and of a steady salty breeze

enough to skirt around any unease.

But by far the best aspect of all

is the broad blue ocean wearing a stranded beach ball.

Around, around, and about it floats,

often passing a blue fishing boat.

In this blue boat there sits a man,

wearing a baseball cap and a farmers tan.

He sits and waits and waits some more,

until after a bit you hear him softly snore.

That colored beach ball is still floating about,

when the little girl comes around wearing a pout.

All she wanted to do was play with her friend, Kristen ,

But her mother wasn't around to listen.

She was on the phone adjusting the dates,

her daughter didn't know that a birthday party awaits.

Kristen was only three houses down the beach,

So she opened the door and left without speech.

She had made it to the first house when the ball caught her eye,

gliding up and down with the waves, seeming to touch the sky.

She couldn't leave it there for all she knew,

this ball was Kristen's, she knew what she was going to do.

The water felt warm and she felt at ease,

with the lapping of the waves and the cool steady breeze.

Only a few feet more and she'll be on her way back,

when suddenly the waves seem to attack.

As the first wave took her under she swallowed with fear,

the salt burned her throat and then came the tears.

When her head split the surface she let out a scream,

A few seconds more and the man in the boat stirred from his dreams.

It took him a minute or so to navigate the wake,

But by the time he got there it was already too late.

She didn't know which way was down, she didn't know which way was up,

She was feeling weak, suddenly her stomach cramped up.

She doubled over and blacked out,

the man in the boat was crying out.

Now the mother wishes she had listened,

when her little girl asked to play at Kristen's

And the father wishes he hadn't have slept,

For his little girl he quietly wept.

They wished they could throw their daughter a birthday,

but in its place they had a funeral that day.

No longer can they stand to live in that house where memories suffocate,

one dark memory alone holds too much weight.

So they sold their house and left the town,

The town they would remember as the place where their little girl drowned

Fuzzy is the border to this endless scene,

with its rough dark sand and skies between.

Empty of sunlight with a steady salty breeze

enough to evoke any unease.

But by far the worst aspect of all

is the broad blue ocean wearing a stranded beach ball.