Jenny Meredith

'Twas in September of the year
that she bid him well away
and his little boat bobbed merrily
as it moved upon the spray.


His promises she kept with her,
all through that fall till spring, 
aye, and young Jenny waited
on what the cove would bring.


But alas no craft was sighted,
e'en as days grew long
and she watched there and she waited
ever he'd come along.

And the sea winds howled their fury
out beyond the reach
ere a solitary figure
wept there on the beach. 


And villagers had a story,
indeed, of what befell
their young Jenny Meredith
who was lost to foam and swell.

Yea, no one listened to the hermit
who lived beside the quay,
when once he paused to give account
of a sight he saw that day.


Two sets of footprints in the sand
that met then continued on
to water's edge, where they disappeared
and were forever gone.


Oh, the sea winds they are restless
oh, they wander wild and free
and 'tis said they whisper secrets
of lovers gone alee.

© Melody Rhodes

Publication
The Sword Review, 2005 
5th Place Winner, Tickled by Thunder, 1999

Author Notes
Alee: sheltered from the wind. Jenny and her love made it, whither they went.

Name meanings: Jenny (Celtic: white wave), Meredith (Welsh: guardian of the sea). (I was surprised at how perfectly her name fit this poem. Such is the power of the muse.)

Photo 1: John William Waterhouse [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Photo 2: John William Waterhouse [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons