Inez wants to touch the stars,

But is scared to leave the ground,

Her cheeks flush like the spring rivers,

Under the pressure, she drowns.

Inez, her sweet melody still lingers,

She reaches out her hands for a face,

A bird in flight, spreading its wings,

Her smile leaves no room for space.

Inez, her hair, floating in the wind,

Like a blown dandelion in the summer,

She cannot escape the cries of elk,

Begging for freedom from her.

The weight hurts her shoulders,

debris rolling into the river from a crumbing cross,

Inez, carves out a cave of her own,

closes her eyes and lays her beating head on the moss.

They call out to her,

“Inez, we can no longer swim”

But Inez, tired, cannot open her eyes,

She wishes to help, 

but does not have the strength anymore,

Inez cannot move her legs or arms,

Paralyzed, her soul washes up on shore.