Sea Legs

Sea Legs

Previously printed in Out Loud Anthology VI, Midwest Writing Center Press, 2013

I find my sea legs in choppy water.

I know my tides—

What washes me out to sea

is the same force that brings  me

back to dry land.

Filtered by coral,

Fed by plankton,

Scrubbed raw with sand and seaweed strands.

     Tossed against the rough rocks

     my former housing cracks.

     A new form emerges.

I navigate these crowds of bipeds—

     With my new breath.

     With my new heart.

Sounds and touch are amplified here

in this dry world.

Infraction and bliss embrace.

                    -Therese Guise