A QUIET MOONLIT NIGHT

On a quiet moonlit night
As I walked along the beach
I could feel the warm water
And the sand beneath my feet.

Lying on the beach
Maybe ten feet up ahead
Was a body of a woman
I’m afraid that she was dead.

There were barnacles and small fish
Still hanging onto her flesh
Her hair was long and stringy
Her face wrapped in a mesh.

Could have been an old fish net
Or some strange and unusual cloth
I wasn’t too sure what it was
There was also some kind of froth.

Coming from her mouth and nose
Maybe from all the salt water
She wasn’t a very tall person
She looked to be 5 ft 4, or shorter.

Her body had been bitten
Some of the skin had been consumed
Her dress was somewhat tattered
She was blown up like a balloon.

I called 911…A S A P
The police and EMS were responding
I waited there with her
I saw no evidence of bondage.

The smell was somewhat repugnant
Her body had washed up on the shore
I thought she was the only one
but noticed there was one more.

This body was that of a man
Wearing slacks, shirt and a necktie
He had been chewed up pretty badly
The sight of them made me cry.

Was this a double suicide
Or maybe a gruesome murder
We would find out soon enough
They ‘d check for rigidity and turgor.

Both were in their forties
Dressed in somewhat casual attire
Could they have been on a cruise ship
Before they both expired?

Maybe on a fancy yacht
Had they had too much to drink?
Did someone push them overboard?
I had some time to think.

Many different scenarios had
Cleverly come to mind
It was a freaky coincidence
Something grotesque for me to find.

The police arrived with flashlights
Made their way down to the beach
I gave them all my info
And a place I could be reached.

A photographer took pictures
They drove me to the station
I was escorted in a squad car
What an odd and weird vacation.

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Photo by Angela Galardi at Space Coast Sunrise.

Author: Patty Richardson

Writer: Film scripts, poetry, short stories. View all posts by Patty Richardson