A eulogy for the man who drowned on the Galveston beach:

Maybe all I wanted was one single secluded moment
Away from the clamor of human life,
And maybe, like the whispering winds of this island,
I'd heard all the tales of human suffering I could stand
And God gave me that tranquil snapshot
There in the pounding surf,
Absorbing the peaceful, salty rhythms,
Enclosed in a fragile bubble of sky and sea.
But in exchange for that peace, the scales had to tip,
and something had to be out of balance elsewhere
just a few feet down the pristine sand.

God grant me the serenity to
accept the things I couldn't see to change,
the courage to change the things I can see,
and the wisdom to see the difference,
Even if all the looking in the world
Wouldn't open my eyes until after
the jolting, sudden fact.

With flowers in my hand and hurt in my heart
I stand staring at the murky waves
Wondering where all that danger comes from
In the midst of calm
But it’s only singing Amazing Grace on the lurching ride away
That will calm my inner tumult and bring the tears.