Untitled (Atlantic Ocean Poem)

I’ve circled you my whole life. 

Each bay, gulf, and stream leading back

to waters rough and warm 

violent yet peaceful 

frightening and satisfying. 

I know you because I know myself

and I know not much

about what makes you. 

Only what rises the tide—

the slip of the rouge wave.

I remember being a child

because of stories you told 

about love, 

about the plunge of grief.

the inevitable cycle of these things.

Each night I dream of emptiness 

white sand coats the dry ocean floor.

I spend my nights trying to fill it,

bucket by bucket

with our hopes, dreams, 

truths.   

Morning light burns naïve eyes

like reckless swimming in saltwater.