Figure In The Storm - For Riette Roos Poem by Charl JF Cilliers

The sudden squall that lashed
and stung my eyes
as thunder and waves crashed
caught me by surprise.

But she was standing there again
as every other day
waiting for the boats, the fishermen
at the makeshift quay.

Previously she would watch the sky
with anguish in her eyes
as she listened to a lone gull’s cry
lost in wide and empty skies.

The words of some indecipherable prayer
or incantation of hers were blown
into broken syllables my ear
couldn’t restore to what heart or head had ever known.

But now it seemed she had called
forth the storm to cry her tears,
her heart having grown cold
and dark as empty days grew into empty years.