encounter on pier 39

encounter on pier 39  she sat inaudibly alone on pier thirty-nine  watching colorful sail boats go lazily by  i didn’t know her name but she was a friend of mine  and it hurt so badly to see her cry  with my guitar in my left hand and wishes in my right  i approached her quietly, careful not to intrude  the waters were darker than the moonless night  and i spoke softly to avoid being abruptly rude “may I play a simple song for you?”  i asked, carefully watching her beautiful blue eyes  “i haven’t written it yet so we’ll see how i do.”  and with that she started to softly cry. “i wanted to jump into the water tonight.”  she confessed when i started to strum  i said, “i could tell your darkness had swallowed the light  i suppose your desperation told me to come.”  i laid my pride down and strummed out a song  a simple story just to say i understood  and that however she felt things had gone so wrong  somehow she could still find some good  my soul has throbbed like fire in the dark of night  crunched and crushed like flattened trash in the street  like a thin shelter from wind, covering my fright  while tearing up pieces to cover my feet  so i know your broken heart, my friend  i’ve seen you through the eyes of a broken old man  so please walk away ‘cause I know you can.”  and with those words i took her outstretched hand.  i never saw her again after that memorable night  but the song was etched forever in my heart  and somehow it seemed we soared to new heights  and with the freedom of our song found a new start  i still avoid the choppy waters of pier thirty-nine  and find I must avoid the beautiful golden gate  yet i wonder what became of this lonely friend  who sat alone one night quietly tempting fate tolbert