one would expect something
so hollow to float,
yet somehow
i find myself drowning

you stripped away my steel walls
exposing the naked vulnerability beneath
you saturated my being
i swelled with completion

the ocean keeps away the flame
i once warmed myself by
i’d inch closer to the flickering glow
unaware of its searing bite

the salt water burns the expanse
of my angry red skin
it permeates my lungs
filling the emptiness

she cleans the wounds
you left behind
she cradles me
rocking me to rest
as you raise your sails

i sink lower
enveloped by darkness– here,
the sun cannot reach me
i sink lower

tonight i will find sleep
at the bottom of the sea
and try to forget
as you take your leave of me