A Winters Tale

There once was a boy
On a cold winters day
Past the swell of the shore
Washing the footsteps he made

He threaded softly and slowly
Looking around and behind
'til he was no longer in sight
Of the boys own kind

He kicked off his shoes
And ran into the deep
His flesh and bones
Inviting the cold to creep

Some would think this strange
They were not far from wrong
For swimming in winter
Could bring death before long

Then a man appeared
With a rod and some gear
Shouting ‘What on earth!
You’ll freeze, get out of there!’

But the boy ignored him
And swam without rest
His small heart beating quickly
Inside his small chest

Further and further
From the shore he would go
Until there was stillness above
And his small body below

Then he opened his eyes wide
His thoughts a wash with glee
As the blurry murk around him
Would clear for him to see

He smiled as he swam
Careful not to breath
Hurrying down and toward
Feeling frantic and free

And with arms stretched out
His legs stable and spread
A figure came forth
From the dark, water bed

It whirled and spun
Up toward the boy
Like a shooting star
With uncontainable joy

The surface was calm
But ‘twas quite different below
As the two embraced
In a spectacular show

Bubbles sprayed
And otters pranced
As the two figures twirled
In a suspended dance

It only lasted a moment
But enough to rebel
Until their worlds beckoned
Breaking the spell

And so the other from below
Pulled the boy in tight
And rushed him to the brink
Of heavens day light

The boy gasped frantically
As air filled his lungs
But when he looked down
The other was gone

The shouting and scolding
He could hear from the sand
So the boy turned sadly
And swam back to the land

“Be wary of that place
It’s dangerous you see
If you go too far in
It will take you from me”

“You’re just so carless”
His fraught mother said
As the boy stood mute
Hanging his head

When his warmth returned
He tried to explain
But his stomach tied up
And not a word came

His mother wept
As she looked at her son
His farther remained solid
Unmovable and stern

‘Son, we have told you before
Stay away from there
You must know
We do this because we care’

The boy hung his head
His mother turned away
And the fathers belt buckle
Caught the light that day

As the second strike came
The still left the lake
Both turned to the water
And felt the wrong they had made

The surface thrashed and churned
The other angry and alone
Dark clouds growled above
So they quickly left for home

It was a short, uneasy trip
None feeling kind nor brave
Whilst the blue, bruised boy
Imagined life beyond the grave

The snow fell heavy that night
In the winter months so cold
While his parents embraced
The boy with naught to hold

Overcome with loneliness
He arose from his bed
Wearing only his pajamas
And a woolly hat on his head

The road was iced black
Under the light of the moon
The night was so cold
He could surely freeze soon

But the lake was not far
If he cut across the lands
So the little boy ran fast
Clenching his little hands

In the lake near frozen
The other sensed the wrong
And climbed onto the land
Where he didn’t belong

His watery lungs adjusted
As he spluttered onto the sand
His weak legs quivered
From the pull of the land

Quickly each moved
Across the treacherous terrain
As both were propelled
By the their hurt and their pain

The other from below
Reached where the boy stayed
Praying to his God that
The boy had not strayed

But the boy had long left
And was cold to the bone
He was now near the lake
But he was all alone

As the other looked down
At the prints in the snow
His heart sank in his chest
And he ran back to his home

The two crossed paths
But they did not meet
A chance so timely
To dash their dreams

Back at the same place
The boy was earlier that day
Now the water, so cold
He had no breath to take

As the wet cloak rose
It was unbearable for the boy
But a small price to pay
To bring the other some joy

So he closed his eyes tight
And went below
There he waited for his friend
Who could not possibly show

This place was magical
The boy knew this well
And so he prayed for it to take him
And he cast out a spell

The other ran desperately
For his friends own sake
His weak legs rushing
Him back to his lake

The boy below waited
As long as he could bare
Then swam back to the surface
Filled with despair

And bubbles rose
From his mouth as he went
They gathered above
The frozen boy’s lament

The surface had turned solid
He was trapped below
The little boy was left
With only a pale, blue glow

The other slid desperately
Then lay flat on his chest
Where could see his friend
Against the ice pressed

He gasped as he looked
At his friend trapped below
His teardrops freezing
On the ice and the snow

He pounded the cold sheet
With his remaining might
But the boy below turned blue
As the other turned white

There, their lives left
Stillness fell upon the land
And the last of the flame flickered
By his parent’s nightstand

The winter morning broke
And so did the ice sheet
Reuniting both the boys
Where they first did meet

And the warm sun sparkled
On the frost of the trees
Where the two souls danced again
In one another’s dreams

©Stephen J O’Connor 2021