Disguised in animosity and briskly walking She boarded the ship The sea gently rocking She could smell adventure in the salty ocean air The constable eyed her strangely As she chewed on her hair She tried to control her breathing Which would have been easier if she hadn't been grieving The entanglement, still fresh in her mind Had left a scar on her soul And her heart in a bind With a stomach full of dread And cloudy thoughts in her head She looked hopefully at the golden horizon Laying not far ahead The constable gave the captain a nod The ship, weighed down by desperate souls, Embarked on its journey Beyond the familiar shoals Unmasked, no longer shrouded in tenebrosity She left the ship Briskly walking Venturing into this unknown land Not a thing in her pockets No coin in her hand The wind blew through holes in her tattered ruby coat Reminding her she was still alive Reminding her of the knife that almost slit her throat She steadied herself She steadied her heart No longer would she be consumed by fear She was determined She would not play that part If there was anything she had learned after years of fleeing She was not an ephemeral being