Lifeguard to the Damned
….. Washed to Sea …
+This lifeguard stand was right down from us on the shoreline last night when my wife and I went to the beach to photograph the full pink moon. I figured a little enhancement could make it really nice as a backdrop. This pic makes me want to write a poem about a heartbroken and forlorn lifeguard suffering from guilt after not managing to save someone. So melancholy and lonely.
There it sits…
Symbol of safety…
Sign of the oceanic savior
Tasked with the safety of others
Whom he doesn’t even know…
Once bright, clean … Dry
Now empty …. Tainted… Soaked with guilt
It’s support washed away…, crumbling …
Tainted red with the blood of the lost…
The Drowned …
Neptune’s waterlogged orphans…
It’s steward searching ever the depths
Stroking his guilt ridden conscience
Through ever more turbulent breakers
His face white with salty foam…
Struggling to right the wrong
To swim that hair faster
Begging Neptune to relent
To let loose his seaweed bedecked grasp
Wrench free his trident
From the soul of a damned mortal …
To allow her just ten more seconds
Precious seconds of air
Life sustaining
One more gasping breath
One more chance to pull oxygen
Into deprived, screaming, watery lungs…
Just a shred of extra stamina to stay afloat
A mere sixth of a minute
Just a tiny burst of speed
To get there …
Grasp that sinking hand in his
Swim … Stroke for the dunes
Pull her from the greedy, angry ocean
Pump the salt laden water from her body…
Lifeguard no more…
Since a life was not preserved
His watch over death dealing waves ended
Yet extended through eternity …
He swims forever …
Searching…
Diving…
Seeking…
Struggling toward each watery gurgle
Each panicked scream for succor …
Praying to save just one last soul
From a watery grave…
Perhaps that someone shall be you
…
…
Lifeguard goes down for third time
As the pink moon shines translucent through
His diaphanous, soaked soul…
Will he come back up?
Life vest buckled… Float streaming behind …
Will she be in his arms?
Or will he swim once more into eternal damnation …?
About the Creator
Andrew C McDonald
Andrew McDonald was a 911 dispatcher for 30 yrs with a B.S. in Math (1985). He served as an Army officer 1985 to 1992, honorably exiting a captain.
https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Keys-Andrew-C-McDonald-ebook/dp/B07VM843XL?ref_=ast_author_dp
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Comments (2)
Wonderfully done, Andrew <3
Oh I'm so glad you published it here as well. Loved it!