Missing you never arrives all at once. It gathers. It waits offshore. Most days it behaves. A pull at the ankle. A thought I can step around. But tonight it does not ask permission. Tonight it crashes. Loud. Relentless. Uninterested in my balance. Everything smells like rain. Every quiet moment fills too fast. I try to breathe between the waves and misjudge the timing. I tell myself storms pass. I tell myself I have survived worse weather. Still, I stand here soaked, calling this strength, while the tide keeps saying your name. ~ still waiting...Thea Hart ~