Paused,
 I stood on the boardwalk
 unsure of how close
 to the Atlantic's edge
 I could allow 
 my planted feet.

 I slept on the beach
 as the sun drifted
 to horizon
 and I still
 could not touch my
 body to the 
 water.

 I knew then
 that if I 
 sought peace 
 at the shoreline
 I would find myself there.

 Yearning and sad.
 Emptying what 
 came before 
 and making space
 for the new.

 Unsure if I could
 continue grieving
what came and went,
what did not
 happen.

The shoreline contained
both open and closed ends
of whatever it is 
that led me to the ocean water.

The shore revealed
all parts of me
alone and seeking 
something other 
than the company
of my own mind.

And so I left 
the ocean
and its company
a day early
because I was not ready
to hold 
what its waters 
led me 
to face.