She Walked Away~by Karen King

 

 

She Walked Away

She found him on his desert island
as she was washed ashore.
He was emptying a bottle of rum,
uttering incoherent sounds.
His tattered trousers were dirty,
his shoes in holes,
his glasses smeared and bent.
As she approached him,
he shrank from her,
in trepidation,
as if he had never seen
a woman before.
A whiff of his unwashed body
and the stench of urine
greeted her nostrils
as the wind blew in her direction.

She saw his camp.
A few empty bottles.
No fire.
No shelter.
No water.
She started a fire.
She built a shelter.
She found water.
He approached her.
He became warm.
He felt safer.
He drank water.
He smiled.
He relaxed.
She spoke to him.
She taught him survival.
She taught him friendship.
He responded.
He started talking.

She indicated her boat.
She asked him aboard.
She wanted to improve his life.
She wanted him to have a future.
He turned away in fear.
He turned away out of habit.
He turned away from comfort.
He turned away from love.
She walked away from his past.
She walked away from his problems.
She walked away from his chains.
She walked way from destruction.

Karen King Copyright 11 May 2016