One day I will be in the ocean

and there he will stand.

At the tip of the coast 

our eyes will meet from a distance 

as he looks out toward me 

past the shore

past all of the little specks of sand 

and everything and everyone else that blends in with those specks of sand. 

He will have no eyes for the surface. 

He will only have eyes for the deep blue of the sea

the way it sparkles under moonlight 

the way it quiets in the morning while the world sleeps.

He’ll look past it all 

and without pulling his eyes away 

make a beeline for the current  

crashing through the waves and the wind and the wild.

My legs are getting tired of staying afloat.

They are so tired.

My body is cold .

The tides have torn me in many directions.

In the process my heart has shattered 

the seawater has drunk  my salt 

but I knew he would be worth the wait

so I found a way to stay afloat on my own 

and when I thought I couldn’t hold on any longer 

he was there.

Maybe a little bloody 

maybe a little bruised

I take in all that he is

wash his wounds with my sugar

and the burn of the salt fades away.

He is there.

He has arrived.

He is paddling right in front of me 

because he knows 

you won’t meet a woman like me 

on the shore. 

You won’t meet a woman like me 

unless you swim out 

into the middle of the ocean. 

~