A young woman stands at a bridge

Her feet perched against the edge

Like a loon on the verge of plunging into the sea

The sun rains gold across her face and wrists

Soft lines lighting up along her arm

They once shone red, but in time, they have faded to but a remnant

of the pain strangers have painted across her soul

Years before, she stood at this same bridge

Legs weaving their way over the railing

Invisible blood on her hands that only she could see

A child entering the world without a sound

Tiny hands limp next to hers

Was she to jump?

To wash away the blame for which she hardly deserved?

She knows now that it wasn’t her fault, of course

She understands the child

For she, too, had once wanted to leave behind the world

that treated her with such cruelty

But the waters are quiet now

free from the storms that ravaged its shores

And, with the sun to her back, she walks on to the future