There is a darkness in this world
that even the world can’t put a finger on.
Sometimes we’re asleep & it takes you
by surprise. The room shapeshifts
into a black ocean. You think god
I am so alone
on this boat. I am
drowning.
But know: even in our sleep,
we are out on the water.
Our limbs your paddles
into the dawn.
Sunlight hurts sometimes.
Let your salt brine this water. We don’t mind
if it turns into the Dead Sea. We will keep kicking
until we reach the shore.
Until your feet remember
home.
We will take out our tiny buckets
& scoop the flood out
of your marble eyes
until you see
you are goddamn worthy
of this boat.
This was first published in Roi Faineant Press on December 10, 2023.
