Distant Shore Poem by Martin Patrick McCarthy

She walks alone on the moonlit beach
Her feet slide in the ever-yielding sand
(It is the only thing in her life that gives) .
The waves wait anxiously, calling her,
Drawing her inward. Her woe is
Unknown, but the waves can wait.
Shouts in anger, sobs of sorrow
She lays down her head
And weeps.

He stands at the water's edge,
Always on the brink, but never falling in.
He lives a life of happy detachment.
The waves are his companion. He
Listens for their wisdom and takes
Their strength.

A shout is heard. No one is there;
The beach is as empty as he left it.
'Why am I alone? ' It was a
Sweet sounding sorrowful voice
Carried along by the waves. So soft,
So sweet. How can he resist the urge
To dive in?

Her sorrow was suspended by a
Soothing voice. She sat up, but she
Was deserted on the shore.
A mystifying voice came
Dancing in on the darting waves.
'Don't you think there is enough water in
This Sea? No more words, Sweet One.'

She was charmed by his wit
(Tossed upon the sand by the Sea) .
She began to giggle
(The gurgle of the Sea brought
Her laughter to his shore) .

'My, ' he thought, 'She must have a
Beautiful smile.' He thought of
Spenser Upon a Strand as he drew
Her face upon the sand.
(It was her face) .

The Moon was high and full in the
Forever sky. The glittering moonlight
Upon the water created a seeming
Yellow Brick Road which would lead to
Her shore. He resisted the Moon's siren song;

She did not. A few precarious steps
On that Golden Bridge were enough to get her
All Wet. She began to weep sheepishly.
It finally struck her. The waves which brought
Them together will forever keep them apart;
That the endless, beautiful abyss will always be the
Beginnging and the End of them. She would
Never see the King of that Distant Shore. And for this,
She wept.

He dove in (there was no stopping him now) .
His clothes, his hair, his soul
Soaked up the Moon-drenched water.
He felt positively great; he splashed
All around.
Her heart pulsed and throbbed with
The waves. She began to laugh, softly at
First. 'He dove in.' She thought to herself.
They laughed and splashed, alone and
Together.

They both climbed out of this special Sea
And on the beach they fell asleep.
They would wake, last night was
A dream. But what kind of dream?

Walking on the beach he passes
A miserable, slightly balding
Man with the bottoms of his
Trousers rolled and he felt all the better
For walking on by for a man
Like this would never dive in.

For her, there would be no misery at
Dover Beach. She knew well (as did he)
The waves will never cease.

(2 July 1996)