Mirrors and Blue

"We missed our chance to sink” she said-- 

but found ourselves dried out again.
-- “I aimed for shore and steered her through--”
while I slept in the hold,
swallowed in mirrors and blue

to the lullabies of stirrings in the deep that sing like---

“The ocean cannot hold your shape,
Child-dissipate, dissipate.”
---and I spread my fingers on cold glass.

 

Now I tread and sputter-
Fitted stubbornly to empty shells
In calcium recalcitrance

Spit out upon the shores of seabirds
Cackling for space--

 

But water’s edge is a vanishing place.

Reviews

[Emma Berman]

I don't know what this means but it is beautiful.

[....]

like your second stanza, this is deep and intriguing. Nicely done.

[D. Pesek]

This is a great poem; the kind that I'm going to have to read a few more times to fully grasp (going in my 'to read' library right now.) I will have to sit down and think more about this one, but my immediate reaction is that it had a smooth flow and created vivid imagery. Well done, I look forward to reading more of your work in the future.

[Taxidermy 101]

Thank you-for being the first person to comment and for the encouraging adjectives. I'd love to hear what you make of all of this. I noticed the ocean also pops up often in your work ("If the waves were calmer, I suppose she'd see clearer"........... self-fulfilling prophecy? or fate? beautiful. no hope for that) I wonder why.