5The Price of Freedom
Tom Conroy
A wave of ignorance swarms about me
And pulls me down.
I am alone,
Pondering the faults of my watery- world
In which I am drowning.
The tide tugs at me
And carries me out.
I am nearing my watery-grave.
I see a mirthless, unforgiving destination.
I enter a place of watery perfection
In my mind.
Everything exists as one.
A land of childhood stories opens
As my body sinks.
Tired,
My body stops and rests.
I chase dreams and fantasies
That are just out of reach.
Unnoticed, a storm continues.
The tumescent sea of fear
Pulls down another.
The sea grows as it feeds
An unquenchable thirst.
The violent sounds explode into silence,
And the tumbling waves stop.
Nothingness reigns.
The eye of the storm,
A trick of nature.
The scared come out of hiding,
And the sea begins to froth.
As the waves begin to rise,
Panic takes control.
As I blink one last time,
I realise…
The sea decides who will win.
With my last breath
I cry for the lost people of the world,
And for the world of lost people.