Presenting oneself
To the muted sea,

Vulnerability envelopes
My step by step
Your step by step

Toward that void -

Or is it
Something else?

What is the ocean
But us?

What is the expanding sand
But our skin?

What are wind whipped gulls,
The sideways skittering *****,
The diminished coral reefs,
The longing blue whales,
The suicidal dolphins and the waning tuna,
But our souls, our personalities, our multitude of beings?

We are born
Of nature.

We come from the soil,
The boulders,
The kaleidoscopic winter leaves,
Shifting in emotionality,
In love and in hate,
As the tides do, as the moon does, as we always do

If you are seeking home,
Look out your window, your tent flap, your terrace,
Look at the sky that embraces the clouds
To her ***** like you do your child or loved one,
Your dog, your cat, your pig, your ferret...

Whatever pet you may keep and
I hope
You keep many...

For you are home,
You are at home with the waves,
The rivers,
The brush, the fires, the lakes, the snow,
The rain, the hail, the storms, the eruptions

These tides that turn
Are of us
For us and against us
Guiding us, teaching us, and challenging us.

You are home,
She whispers as she bends the thin glass of my window;
Wets the thin fuzz as my cheek grows redder;
Forces me to shiver as I bring my bones closer,
Demands me to sweat as I try to wipe every drop away
In futility.

You are home,
She whispers, And
You always have been and
Always
Will be.

You are home.
You are home.
You are home.