Seashells and Starfish

The sea laps the shore like the brim of a glass,
A delicate duet; let's suspend the sun from
Pastel pins, to prevent and prevail upon night -
For once I would like to be light.
And we'll string some stars in a circlet, to dangle
From the height of the heavens,
Like the crown to a queen;
It might leave a luminous sheen.

You held out a seashell
In the palm of your hand;
The sound that resounded
Calls out in command...

I'm weak to the waters that wash across sand,
A crab scuttling over the surf;
I clench and I cling, subscribe to the sting
That scatters me out in the meadow -
You press me unprinted,
Etched without ink.

But I'm addicted to echoes,
And your song is my summer;
I replay it again and again.
Like a lyrical lullaby,
Your words blur my thoughts,
Till I'm lost in the things that I'm not;
But it soothes me the further I sink.

I'm surrounded by starfish,
Straddled by fire;
Sleekly it slices
Through dormant desire...

Soaked in the sea-salt, I walk along waves,
Climbing to the top of the tide.
I stare into eyes that elude me like islands
On the edge of a hazy horizon;
I can't understand you sometimes.

How many have understood me?

If I could only connect with the lens that reflect,
I could drown every doubt that deceives me;
I'm afraid of allowing myself to uncurl,
Of bringing myself to believing.
Come close, you call out,
Come close, but I can't,
Come close, so I won't,
Come close, yet I am...

So we lie alone
Upon the shoals
Of the beach beneath the stars.