One By One

They come and go one by one.

They travel to me by sea, washing up on the shoreline.
Their clothes tattered and torn from days at sea.
Their hair ruffled and shaggy.
Their faces usually scraped and bruised, sometimes even burned.

One by one, I tote them to the cave, welcoming them to my humble dwelling.
One by one, I tend to their every need sunrise after sunrise, sunset after sunset, hour after hour until they may arise from their deep slumber.
One by one, they stir in their slumber, mumbling incoherent fragments of their lives and one by one, I sing them once again back to sleep.
One by one, they awake, regaining their strength a little more everyday as I invite them to assist me in the garden and to the table to dine with me.

One by one, I fall, long and hard.
One by one, I endeavor not to fall, but no matter how hard I try, I do anyway.

It does not matter how they look or how few a time I have been acquainted with them.
I fall.
I will always fall.
And it was once in a blue-moon that I met him, the one who stood out from the rest.

How I tried not to fall. How I knew he would break my heart like all the rest of them. But I could not help myself.
The son of the Sea God.
Those sea-green eyes; far bluer than any ocean I have ever laid eyes upon.
His dark hair; tempting me to wrap my fingers around and tie myself to him every time a strand fell in his eyes.
His good heart and faithful spirit; never to be broken or to disappoint.

He was different in many ways and yet in the end, just the same as the rest of them.

When the time came for me to ask that he remain there with me on my phantom island that I call both my home and prison, shrouded in mist and hidden in the midst of the ocean; he of course, answered with the same reply I received from every one of the others. But this time, the reply came hesitantly and this is how I know he is different from the rest; because he hadn't wished to hurt me, only to return to the aid of those who were dear to him.
And so, I let him go, just as I most painfully did so for all the rest.

And as I stood there that fateful day, watching as the raft carried him further out into the deep and endless ocean, distancing him further from me with every current; My heart fell and continued to fall-never to be repaired again, for that boy, that one different boy, has made every difference in me and has forever changed me with his voice, his touch and his promises, which were to always remember me, (which is only true for as long as he lives; which unfortunately, is nowhere near as long as I am to remain in this world), and to plant me a garden in this mysterious land he calls 'Manhattan' that is home to him.

I still stand there to this day, on the edge of the shoreline-as far as I am allowed to venture-my hair flowing in the breeze, which carries the scent of the ocean on it and I breathe it in deeply as I stare off into the abyss-into a world I am never to lay eyes upon-with his last words to me still echoing in my ears, his voice still clear and wonderful in my mind.
My heart will always be his.

And so, I stand there with the waves overlapping the tips of my toes, the seafoam bubbling at my feet; waiting for the next one.
One by one, I wait with anticipation.
One by one, I tend to.
One by one, I sing to.
One by one, I try to resist.
One by one, I fall.
One by one, I ask.
One by one, I receive the same answer but in different words.
One by one, I watch depart from this island, never to see again.
One by one, I break until the next.

And then, I start over.