Diary

He heard the crashing waves,
calling, singing a song
that he alone could hear,
shaking, brittle hands,
grasped his walking cane.
Walking, a painful thing,
he continued to the scene,
bare crippled toes
left jagged footprints in the sand,
trails of heartbreak between them
he never would forget her name.
The sand darkened,
as he drew near,
the waves edge pushed,
and pulled at his feet.
He remembered her picture
with one foot in the sea.
The water was frigid,
like he used to be.
He remembered how it always seemed,
one foot in the water,
one foot looking to leave.
His free hand felt for his pocket,
and pulled out her diary.
Her heart was one of endless secrets
but her love from him
the only thing that was clear.
He let her go that day,
remembering, a tear fell down his cheek,
following the contours of his wrinkles,
she was the sparkle
he'd always meant to keep.
She'd given him her diary,
but he took his time to read.
Memories, of such simple things
as he read, he began to weep.
his young body was much faster then
he moved with ample speed,
but two months time,
had broken her heart,
and her house, was empty.
He ran to the neighbors,
to the store down the street,
she'd left they said,
but he couldn't believe
the diary in his hands,
was the last of her he'd see.
He looked for her in every crowd,
phone book, and her favorite place for tea.
He remembered how she held the cup,
hands clasped around it
her touch was comforting indeed.
One foot followed the other
each step into the sea,
as the wrinkles fell away,
he shed the pain, the suffering,
and there she stood,
young, and waist deep.
He blinked for a moment
he was sure that she was real
all this time he'd spent looking
and she was finally revealed.