the ocean is our
quarantine

limbs wrapped in
seaweed

clinging to the skin
like a secret

sea moss threatens
to weigh us down

down to the sea
bed

where mermaids linger
with their siren songs

false tears shed

we are one breath
of salty air away

from drowning

and yet the waves
wash us to shore

like flotsam

and we are no longer
a prisoner

of the sea