I could feel the rush of tears
behind the smoke, behind the fog,
a smell of sea breeze
providing salt

I wanted them to wash
all the stories down like sand,
to cut through to the place
where pebbles gathered

I wanted us all to have the chance
to start over again,
to bring our regrets to where
we could safely lay them down,
and finally to look clear-eyed upon each other
without fear, without judgment, without masks.

©Wendy Mulhern
September 14, 2020