A poem for Maya -

Standing in the ocean, with the sand beneath your toes and the water at your ankles,

The ocean rips and roars to show you it’s strength,

You are a welcomed guest, 

A mighty wave comes and drives the wind from your lungs.

The ocean has left you vacant,

Your head is bowed and hair weighted with salt from its attack.

A souvenir of the assault on your senses.

As the water resides, your strength goes with it.

A small reminder, 

you are simply human. 

Holding onto 

Mother Earth, 

you squirrel your toes into the sand,

grasping for understanding,

knowing the anchor is in your breath,

to help you not float away, 

Unrelenting you stand again, 

Never fully having ever lost your footing,

Not to be deceived by the clever undertow, 

This is not your current.

Today was not your day.

The ocean now laps around your ankles, 

begging now like little kisses,

Asking you to stay. 

You say a prayer of forgiveness.

The ocean is the ocean,

And you walk away.