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sillysunfish Feb 2016
My heart belongs to the ocean.
Its size comparable to the vastness of the latter –
open and embracing to waves
of possibilities that carry
all my visions and ambitions into uncharted waters.

A message in the bottle: “Take care of it. It is yours.”

But the map that I hold did not tell me about love.
It did not tell me about you.
It did not tell me
that love is a device that could
throw me off my navigation. It did not
tell me that I would have to go through this again:
to make me feel so small in this infinity of feelings and expectations.

I recall that day when our eyes met across a sea of people.
My heart that day was washed ashore.
Curious, you picked it up. Wondering,
perhaps, where it had come from
and what stories it had to tell.
You leaned in closer and I knew you would hear more
than a tapping rhythm – but entire songs of joy, laughter, sadness and longing.
Captivated you were by this heart,
a bold sailor, who had sung the songs
of joy and laughter – ultimately, the song of adventure.

But I still do not know much about my rescuer.
(Or my captor?) We are now at full speed,
cutting across sea and sky, day and night
and mostly at night where the two lovers meet:
while the sky covers the sea in a blanket of stars, I look up
to see your eyes – blue pools of gentle mystery.

Day breaks again and again and I remember
why I am here in the first place.
There is a dream.
There is a plan.
A map that did not have you on it.
My heart has docked but not for long.
And soon we both know a ship will sail.
To where and with whom? Wouldn't we
Both like to learn.

My heart has washed ashore. “Take care of it,” the ocean says.
“For now, it is yours.”
Part three of my sea series - please read Seascape I and II.
sillysunfish Jul 2015
The seagull squawked:
Are you dead?
I cannot see him - there is sand
In my eyes. A crab (it must have been)
Scuttles across my foot;
Picking up scraps at the seaweed
Wrapped around my toes: the vibrant
Green now worn out from its trip
Across the seas.

Land **! We rejoiced,
Docking at Island ---
It's your turn to name it.
Log Number 712: we are intoxicated
With a tropical fruit
That made your face flush
Putting every sunset to shame.  
And at night we play a game
To guess which is sea or sky.
You are my mirror.
A gentle breeze caresses my thigh.

Are you awake?
You whisper, your breath tickles
Condensing into dew
Landing on the tiny hairs of my ear.
The sand feels like mud but
My mouth is dry
I lick off the trail of sweat
On my upper lip - it is hot
I open my eyes to the sun screaming
at my face: Get up. You're late.

We had begun falling asleep  
At different times.  
You built a tree house
It made your heart race
And there you drew a scape
What was there to look beyond?
One night the sky had
The sea turned into smoke  
You followed the beating
Of thunder
So distant you couldn't
(Listen to me) yell Watch out!
Lightning --- the water shimmered
As you disappeared.

(Water)
Log number 890: we are capsized
(Water)

The crab picked out
The sand in my eyes
Dragging the seaweed to my mouth.
I chewed then spat and the seagull squawked:
"Are you dead?"
No, I said. I think I have arrived.
Compilation in progress. Check out my piece "Seascape".
sillysunfish Dec 2014
I used to call them
"those mass produced
Hallmark Cards"
and it was card
after card
letter after letter
you said "I love you"
in more ways than one.
sillysunfish Dec 2014
You are
a gust of wind that
pushes me into a clear pool
a depth of ocean
that pulls me with enough
force to catapult me into
the sky. (oh I am afraid
of heights)
But I free fall -
the air muffling my scream---
a slap of wild earth
against my skin -
you are
a landslide - I slip
through a waterfall
your grasp I float
with ease in a river
flowing towards
grass. I roll to dry
the dew crowning my hair.

We lay on a net full of stars.
Another day awaits.

We are new.
sillysunfish Mar 2014
Another wave rushes over me
My reflection scatters
in both sky and sea
Flooding my mind
with tiny whirpools of what can
And cannot be.

Another wave rushes toward me
I close my eyes and wait silently
A roar it makes,
It towers, it strengthens;
Then crashes below my feet.

Another wave, I see it coming
This time I run without the warning
A fish drowns in water
Not knowing where I've gone
Or where I'm going.

Another wave I see above me,
I slow down my breath, counting
One. Two. Three.
I pause, my eyes wide open
To find ripples of possibilities.
sillysunfish Jan 2014
Tag - you're it.
And so is that, this, over there, here -
All things I have or cannot have,
A part of reality or a dream
That I consider #1 in a series.
Shall we compare notes?
We have the same thoughts -
So many thoughts we can hear  
but do not listen.
Instead we leave a blank
to be filled after what is done
and what has been said.
Not what is intended
and should have been.
Less is more, they said.
But the list goes on,
Lost in translation.
sillysunfish Dec 2013
The whole in me
Is filled with you;
Expanding as I reach out
To pull you close
Until we both disappear,
Only knowing
Where we could choose to be.
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