My lion’s mane is swirling around me
as I lay weightless in the sea.
The salt on my lips, fish swim underneath,
there is a buoyancy that allows me to float
rocking with the waves. I feel the water
but not the ocean.
The ocean is full of creatures, and I become one of them,
but I’m also scared because this space is not mine-
it belongs to the sharks with their teeth and
the jelly fish with their stretchy tentacles
filled with a poison meant to sting.
The ocean is full of creatures, and I become one of them,
Am I plankton that unknowingly gets eaten
as their predators just open their mouths
as they search for a meal.
Or am I a tiny fish- eaten by a bigger fish-
eaten by an even bigger fish?
Who is captain of the sea?
Or am I like the mammals-
the playful dolphins, the smiling manatee,
the turtles that swim slowly
with no place to go and never rush
to the surface to part with the water
for a necessary breath of air.
Are there mermaids saving sailors?
Is red at night sailor’s delight actually true?
We live on land surrounded by water that
separates us or joins I’m not really sure.
There are sunken treasures, gold maybe?
Entire ships have fallen down- deep down
to places we cannot see.
Unpredictable weather takes place
and tosses the fishing boats
that provide us a feast that we
fillet or crack open, endless recipes.
There are luxury liners where people
party, eat, and sleep over the water
where the horizon disappears,
trusting the captain and his tools to
navigate the path to the next destination.
The ocean does not trap us on land.
It’s tides rise and fall, leaving beautiful
sand landscapes where we lay and
listen to the waves and see a menagerie
of boats and watercraft pass by.
So as I lay here in the sea have I joined
the creatures that can not live on land?
Or am I just a visitor, taking a vacation
in a world not meant for me?