Perspectives

From seat 23B,

the reef is a chunk of rock

fallen off the moon, hiding in the sea.

At the beach,

the sand isn’t a burden when it’s hot

and I walk everywhere.

The pains in my body disappear

so long as I am floating.

Salt is the appetizer

of my communion with the ocean.

I bathe in her power.

She holds me, rocks me.

Somehow, everywhere,

she is our mother.

I do not forget the moon,

but here, she is more

like a welcomed visitor

than the only beacon of hope.

From the deck,

suspended between worlds,

I am simply an observer

of her admiration for the water,

how she highlights curves

of the surface

like a lover barely touching skin

for fear of disturbing the peace.

I am too often

bothered by noise and repetition.

But ambience

of the waves heals me

because I let it.

I do not miss my family.

I will return soon to our dry land.

But first, I must pay homage to the ocean,

whence we are all strengthened.

Evening from seat 31A,

the city is illuminated

like a map of neurons

or the Milky Way.