THE SORROW OF A CLIFF EDGE

They met at the cliff’s edge

Where she was still frozen

On a ledge just below the rim.

She had arrived there, breathless,

From a tortuous climb out of the terror below

With only the strength to stand leaning

Into the cliff wall waiting for the courage

To take that one last step into the future above.

He sat down, dangling his legs

Into the open air of the chasm.

Had he come to end her loneliness

To provide the support

For that last surge up over the rim?

For a while it seemed so.

He did not rush her,

Simply kept her company

Cheering her with his humor

And friendship.

Then when she was almost ready

To take the chance, trust him

To be there to catch her

As she made the frightening leap

Into the openness above the cliff edge,

He looked down.

His eyes in that downward glance

Revealed his hunger to know,

To battle the beasts in the darkness below.

He was there to make the journey down.

He hoped she would go with him

As she had been there and survived.

But she dared not return to the depths.

She might not return a second time.

This he could not see

Through his own desperate need and pain.

There they said their goodbye.

She turned away toward the future

Waiting above the cliff edge.

He stepped down to the ledge

She had just left, turning

To let her know

He would never forgive her

For leaving him to face it alone.