The Breath We Have Not Taken

Ships sleep on the water,

Blocking out the sun,

And people too,

Lulled into slumber by ripples

Losing their purchase against industrial black.

The fruits of faraway factories wash ashore

Packaged in crude attempts at color.

Beyond the crests of distant waves,

There is nothing tangible but vapor

And oyster shells cloistered by shallow water,

Turning sand into splendor untouched by daylight.

Is that where your dreams went, too,

Chased out to sea when the tide came in carrying metal?

Isn't it time to come up for air?

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Thank you so much to Ashley Lima for coming up with this unique prompt! When I searched for "Harbor" on Unsplash, I was expecting an image that evoked peace to be the first result, but what I was given to work with didn't conjure that at all for me. Overall, working off of the image was a nice literary stretch. I have linked the original below. Hopefully, it inspires you, too!