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Saudade

a poem on longing, distance, being at a point on the Earth that is just somewhere in the ocean

By Joe NastaPublished 3 years ago 1 min read
1

Saudade

(31°21” S, 72°26”W)

We’ve seen the horizon and it’s always the same

::

Of course, I was drowning

::

Are there different tides inside tedium?

::

For three hours we were living in the same day

::

Today just a bit of a nuisance

::

There are birds in the middle of the ocean

::

I read this all to you in your sleep

::

The expressions on their beaks feel familiar

::

How beautiful, rippling I whisper

::

You called me dumb because water is the same everywhere

::

It’s more than beauty the way our bodies are connected

::

The rolling equal in all corners of the world

::

Each of our fingers, wrists, and elbows

::

We are not only together when we are together

::

I distract myself immediately. I can explain

lust straightforwardly but I missed the fire

::

At anchor somewhere off Chile we took a launch to shore

I did not answer when the trip flew by looking

::

There has been so much I don’t feel due to the earthquakes

Can you forgive me for enjoying no romance

:: ::

Wanting absorption of the hip Sometimes I look back and feel something

I have finally gotten resolution Little boats strategically placed, firing off

:: ::

The same fireworks I watched From the highest point of our anchorage

Battling between two extremes Several at once, and not one stopping

:: ::

I was not filled by any emotion I just watched the flames.

note: the line “I can explain lust straightforwardly but I missed the fire” is from Simple Colonial Encounters by Maged Zaher

nature poetry
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About the Creator

Joe Nasta

Hi! I'm a queer multimodal artist writing love poems in Seattle, one half of the art and poetry collective Eat Yr Manhood, and head curator of Stone Pacific Zine. Work in The Rumpus, Occulum, Peach Mag, dream boy book club, and others. :P

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