I wrote this is honor of my best friend, who recently began a new chapter in her life in the Peace Corps. May God go with you, sweetheart.
Ocean Wide
I can easily recall
the ocean of my youth
A child looking out,
wondering about
All the mysterious creation contained beneath
the water
Sharks, jagged edges,
and perhaps even mermaids
An over active
imagination’s paradise
Yet I feared submersion
Of having my dreams
dashed by the powerful forces below
So I stayed on shore
as the rolling tide teased my ankles
Begging me to join
Ten or so years later
Fourteen, sixteen,
teetering on womanhood
The adventurous
spirit within me awakens
I am cautious, but I
long to be free
A day trip in a beach
town I break away from the confines
Gallivanting into the
waves on my own
Diving in between to
feel the sting of salt in my eyes and nose
Dancing against
nature
Only to realize that
I’ve wound up on the other side
But I went
unpunished, and later basked in a palette of colors
Shades of blue and
pink surrounding me
Realizing what made
me feel alive
The way I felt back
then
A mirrored reflection
of how I feel right now
One moment I’m
terrified of the vastness before me
Yet eager for the
opportunities that lie ahead
We’re now at age
where it’s considered normal, if not expected
To go off in directions
Anything can happen
And whether that’s
good or bad is as unpredictable as a rising tide
Some of us will only
be separated by a phone call
Others by a couple
hundred miles
Perhaps for a select
few
An Ocean wide
There’s no way to
know how things will change
How we’ll grow and
evolve
How we’ll look,
think, or feel once we meet again
But let’s not let
love be dependent on stages and places
Rather, unconditional
faith and support in one another
Seeking to understand,
rather than just be understood
I don’t know what the
future holds. But I know who holds the future
Let’s hold onto that
promise, along with each other
My friend forever
No matter how far
photo credit: Avila Beach Pier via photopin (license)
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