An Ocean You Become

Who you are is a shipwreck,

a maiden voyage,

her vessel run aground

by winds and waves so wild,

holding pains unreconciled—

sorrows they set sail

and to keep you from their plague

she carried them each

and every one

deep down, down they sank.

Sinking, sinking more

an ocean you become

you fiercely ebb and flow

the wreckage churning out,

little souvenirs of woe,

‘til they come to settle

unburdened on your shorelines

but only for a time—

because when the lunar tide decides

to salvage what remains

then back, back into the deep

they go,

into the mystery that you are

until the sun and moon align

to bring them up

once more.