WATERMARK

Well, this is a bit of a surprise to me. It's quite long, and I'm not in edit mode just now, so posting as-is and will come back to it later:

      

the sea carries you

in its heaviness

its thick grey-green

all the creatures’ lives

beneath, swimming

hold you up in the

salt air

   

walk the deck

watch the movement

of water & sky

the sea washes you in rain

island mountains

rise ahead & fall

behind

   

there is water, earth & sky

there is sharp cold air

it all holds you

carries you

home

   

dolphins come to play

in the ship’s wake

they watch you

with their small

sharp eyes

   

they are laughing at you

why are you on this

object of wood & metal

when the sea itself would be

so happy to carry you alone?

   

gulls circle the mast

at noon

at dawn the sea is gold

the rain, the rain

comes later

the sea swallows it all

releases green light

back into the day

   

at night, a bevy of stars

the hum of the engine

black water that moves

waves of pale light

   

you walk in circles

yet the boat, the sea, the earth

carry you a far distance

   

sometimes you consider

stepping off

into the deep water

perhaps you would sink

straight down

through schools of fish

falling, falling

   

or perhaps the sea

would hold you up

in its arms of waves

carry you to some

far, longed-for place

   

an imagined Atlantis

of mer-people and porpoises

giant gentle sea-horses

an octopus embrace

   

or perhaps a whale

will swallow you

whole and carry you

to god, give you

wings

   

you will hear the singing

of the whales

the call of dolphins

the ocean speaking

to itself

   

& above, the dance

of sea-birds

their sharp

brittle music slapping

the surface of the sea

   

all its colors you have never seen

melting

one into another

melding

into something new

   

something unseen

unimagined

and you will never come up

for air

   

this is what you

are made of

this salt water

this fishiness

this longing