Love's Indifference: A Sestina

She thought she was in love but she got over it.

Breaking over her like the waves of the ocean
Rising in her breast like an undulating hill.
Though it had no form, only mist and shadow
Her heart knew its certainty like granite stone
With this knowledge she felt her soul free
There was no denying her love for this man.


Her body called out to this man
Making love to the rhythm of the ocean
Together they became one, floating free.
Making love nestled in sweet grasses on the hill,
Like children they carved initials on a stone,
Holding each other tenderly as day became shadow


From somewhere into her heart came a shadow.
There were misty questions concerning this man.
Her heart felt the uncertainty like a stone,
Her feelings as turbulent as the ocean,
As she stood in the wildflowers on the hill,
A coldness she could not shake free.


She loved to watch the birds fly free
Thinking of herself in their shadow.
Arms outstretched standing alone on top the hill
Her heart told her she needed no man.
Confusion crashed like waves on the ocean,
Her finger traced their names on the stone.


A promise had not been written in stone.
They both agreed that they were free.
Much like the ebbing tide of the ocean,
Not unlike a cloud's passing shadow.
He was a man like any other man,
Changing like the seasons on the hill.


She enjoyed watching the sunrise on the hill.
It was not that her heart was cold as a stone
Or that she bore ill feelings toward any man,
Only that she loved the feeling of being free.
Love was no more than a vaporous shadow,
Ebbing like the waves on the ocean.


A hill stands firm and unmoving even though a river flows through it free.
And no matter how large the stone it can not hold down a shadow
And as is true with fish, this man was one of many in the ocean.