a ghost on the water
can you see her?
the pasts of people thrown overboard
cast aside
she is waste
second place
proxy for someone better
and she knows
there’s always someone other
than her

it starts with a whisper
quiet as the wind through your hair as you trek towards the water’s edge
feet sinking into the sand below

then it grows
filling your mind’s eye as the sight stretches before you, water crashing and frothing, stealing golden rays from the sunset above

the water tugs at your feet
the ocean, either through kindness or indifference, decides not to take you now
she just lets you watch
silently pouring all your emotions into the roar that surrounds you, into the endless amount of water at your feet and in front of you
and she listens
you are so small,
your problems and emotions are even smaller
she whispers to you, through the roar of her waves, the wind through your hair, the water stretching endlessly into the horizon

you are so small
and that is okay