It breaks upon her
wave by wave it brings and takes
Life is coming
She wants to please it,
wants to see it dance and splash,
wants to feel the purposeful pressure and pride
But it is to much
Her feet give way
She has slipped under
Her movements jerk and twist as violence flies from her throat
she cannot breathe
effervescence taunting her with air too scarce to make useful
She is thrashing now
not to escape
only to breathe
Why can’t she do as others do
Why do they glide along the crests as she is swallowed whole
she begins to let go
admitting to herself that she cannot
and as her fists turn to hands once more
remembers she must let go to swim
She rises
as she watches the girl sink beyond her view
beyond her memory
Any moment now you will see her
She will break upon the surface with her new love in her arms
her delicate tresses now a mane and unpolished toes commanding currents
and she will brave the tides and combers
as you wonder what became of the girl
that danced in the ocean but came home
with the world tucked contently at her breast
For she is not the same as she was
wave by wave it brings and takes.
