Sanctuary

For a Wounded Soul

Stranded on the shore
her solitude complete,
marriage over,
K. wonders if today
Lake Superior will swallow
or save her.  
She even wonders 

if she cares.
She sits in stillness,
the longer she stays,
the more she senses 
a sacredness of place – 
the rock where she sits a pew,
the distant horizon an alter,
water and sky of equal depth 
and cobalt hue her cathedral,
the splash of a wave
her baptism 

into a newfound hope. 
A single star cannot
brighten the night sky,
God knows she tried,
but this lake she discovers 
can resurrect a soul 

by offering sanctuary.
She takes off her shoes,
scatters her regrets 
with each toss of a stone, 
and lets the cool water 
remind her how good 

it is to feel alive,
to stand and not fall.
And as she gets ready to go,
the lake reflects the smile
she thought she had lost 
and she recognizes, 
unlike her past, 
Superior will never
leave her alone,

she is indeed home.