From The Shore

4/28/22

Sunlight glints on ripple of ocean water

Birds greet the day with exuberance and delight

Liquid rage pounds the shore.

My life is in that whitewash

Swirling in a confusion of murk, seaweed and the unknown

Pulling me off my feet.

With the rhythm of the waves, breathe seeks reassurance

The crackle and static as water retreats against the sand amplifies worry and fear

Nothing ever stays the same, and change sends me swimming.

I am

Powerful, strong, determined,

I can do it

alone

I hold my breath as a wave crashes over me and takes me out to the unknown

I fight the current; kick and slap the water as I struggle in a tangle of fear and saltwater

Again and again, I am slammed to the shore; face collides with hard-pack sand and I lie motionless as whitewater recoils around me, racing back home once again.

I gave a piece of myself away in the name of love

I lost myself in the process

From the shore I look out at sadness, rage and confusion.

With the relentless strength of the sea

The fight is lost

Limp, body is washed out into the dark with the foam.

Fear pulls me toward unknown depths of the waters below.

I do not fight

nor resign

I stop. I notice.

Saltwater, sun-shimmer, whitewash, sand

The force of the ocean is greater than humans can ever be

I am powerless to its strength and beauty.

I am the wave; insignificant yet strong within the infinite life of the ocean

I move with the lunar pull

I roll, as curled water turns to wave and meets sand, again and again.

Release

The fear

The perfection

The hesitation

The worry.

With every crash to shore I am brought back

Ready to begin anew

Ready to accept again

That

Just like the ocean

My life is beautiful.