the ocean

wrote this a few weeks ago. one of the big things i miss about home is the water. but that's not entirely what this poem is about. i tried to use the meter to convey some of the meaning, so if you get to the end of a line wondering why you want to keep talking that's why. it's also a little chiastic.

you know i always miss the ocean
on stormy days i miss its waves
and on the clear days too
cause three thousand miles are just
too many for my toes to trip
when we've just got a weekend.


i know the gut-punching sickness
that comes on darker nights
when i wake up and there you
aren't.
and how i've wished to weep
for now i know how it is to be alone


the slap of water in the sink,
any mirrored flash of light,
the frozen fountain in
-
the frozen square below
they all remind me of the ocean
and of the suns embrace


and loneliness loves to gnaw at my guts
its chewed all through my
heart
for you are gone so i'm not here;
pray God someday
that all of that will change


is this what earth feels like to heav'n
(now am i not absurd?)
but i say sometime in the sunlight
when on the highest crest of hills
when dancing with our life's true love
we long for what we do not know.