We are Composed of Waves
Missing you feels something like a sand castle
too close to the tide
praying for more time but always running out
and yet it stands there
shining in the sun.
Do you taste the long lost salt too?
Deeper, richer, a fond memory forgotten
dredged up from the ocean's deepest point
by a caring creature with claws
who only thought, why not
give these little buggers another shot at finding something better?
Children splash in the shallows;
the few parents who know about this place read
and hold hands;
birds make courageous dives for sandwich crumbs;
and I've come to believe that if the sun gives warmth
then your smile is the furnace that holds it.
Have I ever told you what burns inside me?
Did I forget to warn you about my shipwreck?
History, history, history.
Do you understand I have made this mistake before?
But I believe we can change all of that.
For me, the storm was cunning and waited
for you, and for me to create
the wind and the waves,
the howling and the thunder,
and yet the water calms if we wait,
breathe in the wise, whispering air,
listen for the way each salty gust holds us
and wants to hold us.
I reach for you even when I know
my hands will come up empty
and my heart learns that love is an ocean,
my hands are claws,
and claws can be taught to hold on
instead of snipping apart,
can be taught to dive deeper
to set free sand that forgot
it is always allowed to feel warmth
and the loving grasp of fingers.