The sun was bleeding red rivers into the sky, Whilst the sea calm, rose glass, brushed the sand. And on my back the rock sat, heavy and cold. My cursed friend, whose weight encumbers me. Distant memories wash in with the tide Curling tendrils of days long gone through the rivulets Of my mind, in the days before I knew the rock. But they ebb into the distance as the shoreline recedes, Then slowly creep back in once more with shallow stealth. I try to grasp hold, to retain the memory pre-rock, But it is like trying to grasp grains of sand between your fingers, It flows back into the golden blanket without identity. And as I sit on the infinite beach of my dreams, I stroke tenderly my rock, massaging the granite that clings, Knowing its suffering is mine to bear alone, And as the sun dips its head into the sea and the stars Flicker a million greetings to me, I head for home with my rock and my life lived.