life,      ebb and flow

a promise,   inside   rolling,   then   shifting    mommy

a celebration of bubbles    foam on sand

     become flutterkicks,

breakers somersaulting, riding laughter our bodies rubbed the shore,

                                                  we played

tap, tap,      can you hear the slap of surf against the rocks

with every s t r e t c h distorting me,      transforming

expectation growing like tiny limbs r e a c h i n g out    mommy

                      pulling back

                   receding

                      into

                   stillness

      don’t leave me                  change of tide

an unspoken pledge rescinded,              flow  and  ebb

while I, sarcophagus, motionless salt in tow

            (pink flesh yellowing in amniotic soil-beneath

            the surface fine wisps wave and fan a face

            eternally set in grim determination)

long after the struggle is ended I walk the shoreline of dead seas in search of shells and driftwood, answers and a small voice

                      here,    put this conch to your ear

                                                                                   you might hear him still

05/04/2003

Posted on 11/30/2017
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