you and your sunshine smile, suntan grin, speckled face, freckled skin
nearly goddess, gracious nymph, oil painted beauty, portrait of a lady practically bare, epitome of goodness but still surrounded by sin
salt in your hair, spilt saline tongue, stagnant air that has me standing
stuck in one place
sweltering and sticky and mind starting to spin
enamored and awe-struck with the sun-kissed siren somehow pulling me in
is it strange to say i think i lost you to the sea? that it was the reflection of the light off the waves, that promised watery escape, that drew you there and left you drenched - should i assume you didn't notice? did you wander too far, did you wade too deep?
is it strange to say i'd still follow you anywhere? when i'm lulled to sleep, listening to the almost silent sea-shanty bay-side lullabies pushed to the back of my mind
the dreams that are there when i close my eyes
they're full of far away drifting ships, and also light, and also darkness
whispering voices, things hidden under the depths
words trapped in bubbles, pearls trapped in shells,
and me digging my feet into the sand, trapped here, tiptoeing along the ocean shelf
here, there is love that feels a lot like swimming, swimming that looks a lot like sinking,
and there is also sun. and the sea. and you.
maybe those are all the same thing, after all