The waterfall looms ahead,
no way she can steer around.
It lays before her,
horizon to horizon wide.

Like a cow going to slaughter,
she knows she can’t escape what’s to come.
She’s poked and prodded from behind,
not allowed to turn back.

Scalding voices splash her stern,
eating away what’s good in her wake,
as it pushes her forward into the future.
Faster and faster, then…free fall.

The angry knots in her stomach untangle
as she leaves despair behind,
plunging into the unknown waters of tomorrow
where she never will be found.

©2023 and 2026 Kate Wolfe

Featured image via Pixabay.