Perception is
just the difference
between what you want
and what is


He would find her
out on the strand
the wishes of ages
tangled in her
greyblack hair

She would be watching the water
the way it would curve around the earth
hugging it close
leaving it far behind
and smashing against it
when least expected.

Wanting to touch her
was just something
he lived with
like breathing
it was involuntary
and without it
death waited quietly

He could hear
the whispers of roses on her
the way they spoke
of spring
and what it might bring

Her smile
was a pretty girl
reading her lovers letters

she would open her mouth
and days would fall for him
to scoop up and keep for later

When she was finally ready
to come with him
the ocean heaved
and took them both unawares

told them
how it was
to love the shore

It spread sea shells
and empty eyed fish
for them to see

all the gifts
it had given
a raft
stained and streaked by sun
a buoy
bobbing in the shallows
star fish
drying and fading
and always
the song
the soft sounding lapping call

The ocean explained
how it had sung for the shore
for a billion years

and would sing
for a billion more

or till the sun boiled it away