Capsized on the Caspian

You left me capsized on the Caspian The bold-wind black-oil Caspian Suicide-tower fire-altar Caspian Cigar-smoke car-exhaust Caspian Oh Caspian, My Caspian How could you just let me drown? Pacific and Atlantic and Mediterranean Rhein and Seine and Thames Huron and Kagawong and Lawrence I see you quarrel Over who is greater Richer older Better bolder Who runs cleaner fresher sweeter Who flows stronger faster deeper Who gave more of themself to me Who took more of me for themself Who has more heart Who stole my heart And who will possess it in the end I don’t know But capsized in the Caspian Is how I learned to swim And to stomach salt water And to weather storms To enjoy the taste of raw fish Calamari caviar crab And to both love and hate The forceful winds That blow me to and fro While capsized on the Caspian I found my home To be not stable, not stagnant But undertow An invisible current clenching pulling holding gripping Dragging tearing teaching ripping Delivering me to what is next Oh plastic-bag jelly-fish Caspian Petroleum-sand mud-volcano Caspian Sun-blazed low-land Caspian Capsized, yes But also baptized I drowned in the tangles of your dark torrents And was born again in the summer moon-tide

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Written by

ariel-evangeline-baptista

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