Ebbing Tide
by Nevada Kerr

A shadow girl without a bloodline
Danced and caught the ebbing tide
And a fire dying in the sky
Just before the world was gone
And the dusk of heart's desire
A liar stole her daughter's song

She dances to hide her heart from pain
Too hardened to hold a forlorn disdain
At times she invokes the vanquished ones
Who worked and routinely gambled suns
The factory took her cherished mother
And the town she knew vanished that year

No bones are left for the shadow girl
Who squeezes her bridled whites
Ghosts sing in an airless basement
Their voices interred by obedient knights
Her split and tortured union brothers
Wrapped in flags beside the swords they brandished

She remembers that December
On the eve of love's demise
When all the world was glowing
And her faith spoke through her eyes
But now the memories have faded
And all she knows are lies and tears
No good can come from a God
Who answers hopeless prayers

Written by Nevada Kerr
30th August 2002. (Edited 25th February 2002).