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1.1k · Aug 2017
The Ninth Wave
M Aug 2017
It was not long, a few days at most, before we hit the storm
The first wave hits with ineffable force, knocking me off my feet
A well placed bolt of lightning took out a sizable portion of the ship and her passengers
The second wave carries them away, never to be seen again
Thunder crashes and the foremast falls to the sea
The third wave swallows it up
The captain remains stoic, shouting orders to what little crew he has left
The fourth wave strikes the starboard bow, some men are thrown from the edge
I grab hold of the rail, my grip strengthened by some primal fear
The fifth wave washes over me and I’m torn away
I thrash and struggle up to the surface and fill my lungs with air
The sixth wave takes me under again
Again I make it to the surface and climb onto a passing piece of wreckage
The seventh wave drags what remained of the ship to the ocean’s murky depths
At least the sound of thunder and rain blocks out the screams of drowning men
The eighth wave breaks
I remember how the ship once stood tall and proud
The ninth wave looms over me
I take a breath
M Aug 2017
They're invisible because they're moving too fast
And I wonder what else I haven't seen
That's passed me by, moving too fast
A library of stories told only once
And I'll never hear them because they were read too quickly
Lower the shudder speed and you might catch a glimpse
A peek into the photo album of everything you've never thought to notice

An unfathomable amount of things happen every day and I'm not a part of most of them
I'm left out of an uncountable number of moments, all of which have the potential to be incredible

I'm moving too fast, I'm invisible

That's one way to look at it, but here's another:
Every moment I experience is exclusively specific to me
Every moment I experience is a photograph taken just for me, added to an album that only I will get to look back on
Every moment I experience is a novel written just for me, a story that only I get to read

Nothing ever moves too fast
Everything I need to see is moving at exactly the right speed
339 · Aug 2017
Silent Noise
M Aug 2017
The fire roars, the winds whistle
The stars play a song that can't be heard
A melody you can only listen to with your eyes
And if you look long enough your heart will sing along
Stare long enough and the lights will start to dance
With the fire by your side, you forget the cold
The stars make you forget the dark
And you listen for an eternity
An eternity that only lasts hours
Because the fire will die
And the Sun will rise
But the silent noise will be back again
When night falls
330 · Aug 2017
Illusory Restraint
M Aug 2017
I see it in every wrinkle
In every wilting flower
In every cracked stone
Every second of the hour

Something that isn't there, but was
To which all things are bound
Something anyone can lose
But only few have found

The universal measure
A tick that doesn't bite
Nothing can dodge its warm embrace
Not even day and night

Always there and never not
Though it holds no shape or form
I sit and watch the clouds gather
The calm before the storm
326 · Aug 2017
Distraction
M Aug 2017
The fisherman casts his lure into the undisturbed water
The soft "plunk" sends ripples to the farthest reaches of the pool
His bait is shiny, it dances to a rhythm that is impossible to follow
It catches my eye, as it never fails to do
I swim towards it as I've done so many times before
I know I should leave it be, I know where this road goes
But I'm already caught
He reels me in
As I'm being pulled away I scold myself for my stupidity
I'm pulled out of the water and for a brief moment I can't breath
It's a feeling that I've become so familiar with that I no longer fear it
The fisherman drops me in his bucket
For hours I'm left to swim around without direction
Until he releases me, he always releases me
I swim back home, I've already forgotten the lure and its magic
Until I hear the "plunk" again
And I'm reminded that I'm not the one in control
222 · Aug 2017
Sea-Foam Green
M Aug 2017
Like waves crashing upon an empty beach,
the ocean’s shade matches my feelings; blue
I grasp at happiness, just out of reach
My head cluttered with memories of you

The tide pulls me farther away from shore
I’m drowning, but not struggling for air
Choking on the times that we shared before
Sinking in this endless sea of despair

The ocean turns to green, a softer shade
The waves glitter in the light of the sun
My heart’s memories of you begin to fade
The next chapter in my book has begun

You occupied my mind for far too long
It’s time I turn my back and move along
214 · Aug 2017
Lost
M Aug 2017
I can not, should not, will not say
That I've found my path, found my way
To live a life just day by day
Leaves me feeling lost

Without direction, left to wander
Alone with my thoughts, left to ponder
Calling out, no responder
Leaves me feeling lost

— The End —