It
My morning swim wreaked havoc
on every cell of my sleepy skin.
As the silver water lapped around me
the black night faded
with a hungry sun,
and together we took the day for ourselves.
Me, the light and the sea.
It begins,
as many things do,
with a shadow.
I held my movements
treading water with the stealth of a crocodile.
Waiting, watching.
I know it is there, under the water.
It is coming closer
feeding off the deafening beat of my heart as it ripples the mercury surface.
There was a sound I had not heard before.
Baby cries and angel wings echoed in a ravine.
And I listened hard
in an ominous wait for what was next.
The shadow rises, wraps itself around my torso
and tries to pull me down.
A rampant seaweed with a killer motive
Strong like father,
Invisible.
I remembered the shark warnings
Play dead
Eyes closed and limp
dreading the outcome
I sank into the power of the beast
as it thrust me up out of the water
into the sun like an offering of life
on a jet of black oil.
And suddenly I was gone,
It and I were one
©2024 Sarnia de la Mare
