I long for the serenity of sleep

The lapping of the water on the shore used to send me a drift

Now my fear keeps me from closing the blinds on the day

The fear of seeing it again

Seeing the man aloft

Swaying in the breeze

A blank and steady expression

His toes are turned down as if he were a ballerina

The watch dangling from its chain as they lower him

Swaying back and forth

Engraved is him

F. W. S.

His helpless eyes plague my nights and even my days

So long I have avoided sleep

That I give into exhaustion

F. W. S. swaying back and forth