The Token Poem by Patrick O'Reilly

As the ship dragged his body down,
He sailed back to those rugged coasts
And the sagging house on the hill
Where a worried woman waited in her chair,
Praying hard
Against the wind, and rain, and raging sea.

He stepped slightly across the floor,
Not bothering to wipe off his feet,
Not bothered by the pools of water leaking in from the storm,
And towards his wife.
A chill washed over her body.
She looked up into nothing,
And she wailed and turned back to the window.

He wanted to kiss her
And tell her it would be fine
But she only slipped through his arms.