She stands atop a stone, looking down
into white-capped waters breaking,
determined, rocks and driftwood
lined up against the cliff like an army with
bayonets poised and pointed into the charge
of many blue-gray coated enemies;
And from her hand falls the last two pills
of a now-empty bottle, her mind feeling
severed and numb, daring light to break in
and lift away this mysterious laughter
full of the tragedy she now creates
in one last love affair with life.
Closing her eyes, she spreads her arms like
a lover, and spends a moment flying over
the waves, over all the world, dropping down
through darkness — tumbling — splash!
From below, he sees her cutting through
the turbulent air, like a swan,
white and graceful, that dives into the water
and grows black as it descends; and he saw her,
if only for that moment, as a flare,
a star-like falling down and fizzling
into frost-night abandonment—
and he loves her.