The Ocean

I didn’t ask to go to the ocean,

Mysterious - yet so Familiar.

Miles away,

Though somehow right around the corner.

.

The ocean came to me.

At first just in my dreams,

Taunting me in my sleep.

.

It felt so real -

The waves crawling up the beach…

I could feel the gentle breeze through my hair,

The warm sand between my toes,

And your whisper in my ear.

.

It was magical.

My favourite place to be -

Where time stood still and my heart got swept away in the many delicious - and yet fleeting moments.

But the tides were too strong to stay afloat.

I could only go back visit in my dreams,

Or I may drown.

.

Maybe if I just sat in the sand,

Never getting too close,

I could - just take a peek.

.

And so I went - just to watch the pretty waves and see the sunset.

But the waves found their way to me again,

As if we were magnetically linked.

Sneaking up the sand playfully splashing my ankles;

Wrapping me in its warm embrace almost as if we became one.

It felt like home.

.

As the sunset neared,

I felt at peace.

The ocean was calmer this time.

I let go of my fears and jumped in once more.

.

Then when the night approached,

And it was time to go,

I saw the surface,

And came up from below.

Said goodnight to the shore,

While the tide was still low,

But then the sky turned grey,

And the air grew cold.

I saw a flash,

As the thunder rolled,

I tried to get up -

But it wouldn’t let go.

.

It grabbed at my ankles,

And called me names.

It tried to stop me -

But then threw me away.

Like a game of tug of war,

That I couldn’t sustain.

.

So.

.

I slipped on its expectations,

tripped over its angry waves,

And sunk beneath the jealous tide.

.

And now here I am drowning,

in this sea of expectations,

.

When I didn’t even ask to go to the ocean.