tide
here it comes again
another tide
washing in and whispering
whisking away footsteps
we left drying in the sand
until it seems
even the memory of that day
has been completely washed away

if not for my sun-burnt back
and sand-sore legs
i could pretend
i never really knew you at all

here it comes again
another tide sliding in and slithering
washing away poems
we left scribbled in the sand
until it seems
even the memories of those days
have been completely washed away

if not for my sun-burnt back
and sand-scraped eyes
i could lie and say
i never really knew you at all

here it comes again
another tide
washing in and whispering

your name


awaiting charon
i walk barefoot on the rocks that line the perimeter.
i am cut. but today,
i don’t care.
i am drunk
and strong in my drunkenness.
strength without intoxication?
impossible.

i walk barefoot on the rocks that line the perimeter,
where mountain earth and endless water meet for the first
and last time.
existence?
a line defined by the perimeter.
distance?
a middle without beginning
or end.

i walk barefoot on the rocks that line the perimeter.
i am cut,
but the waves kiss my wounds.
and in the distance-
i see the light of a speedy ship.

coming to ferry me home.


return to the water
i wade with hope
into the waters
the waves will wash me
i wade deep
into the ocean
i will drown my fear
salt my eyes
and water my lungs
but i will not turn back

feet deep,
knee deep
wet clothes drag me down
i dive deep
into the waters
i will not turn back
Now

i push deeper
into the waters
the sea will save me
i dive deep,
twisting and turning
i swallow my fear
salt my eyes
and water my lungs
but i can not turn back

waist deep,
chest deep
i must stand my ground
i sink deep
into the waters
but i cannot swim back
Now

i’m pulled deeper
under the water
the sea will drown me
i’m pushed down
deep under water
to find what i fear
close my eyes
and flood my lungs
but i’m too weak to turn back

neck deep,
head deep
my fear drags me down
i sink deep
into the water
i’m too weak to swim back
Now


drown
a wave breaks and another wave breaks it wouldn't be like this if you and i weren’t so far apart whenever we are close i feel soothed, i float but far away i start to thrash in the water and drown then i am pulled down and far away the undercurrent a noose around my frozen feet pressure crushing me the air is forced from my helpless lungs i drown. another wave breaks and another and another

a wave breaks and another wave breaks down and far away i look up i know i will never break though that surface tension currents pull in, push out lateral movement keeps me down i drown down and far away i look up my sky is all the tears that flow from a blue and blinded dilated eye i’m too heavy to swim up there i drown. another wave breaks and another and another

09/26/2001

Author's Note: ~the whole is greater than the sum of its parts~

Posted on 09/26/2001
Copyright © 2024 Richard Paez