poetry

thirsty for wave: Agnes Water

thirsty for wave: Agnes Water

my toes, thirsty for wave
delight in the surf
wet sand sloughs dead cells
and salt air bathes
my pipes from sinus to lung
moonlight skips a warm glow across the crests
shifting from one end of the bay to the other
as I search the shore for turtle nests

here the ocean is as safe
as a wild thing gets
we are on agreeable terms
and my fingers loosen
dropping one heavy worry at a time
into the tide
then I edge away
knowing it’s a kindness
not to turn my back

poetry

unseen danger

unseen danger

after looking dubiously at the sepia water
of the nearly still creek
I went back and asked
is it safe for swimming?

oh, yeah
the owner nodded
I’ve been swimming in it all my life
the crocs are just in saltwater
20ks away

approaching a second time
I got in enough to launch a canoe
all the better to appreciate
how the water was thick like molasses
(perfectly natural, filled with nutrients)
but it wasn’t the water that put me off
it was the impenetrable darkness of it
not knowing what was beneath
the inscrutable surface

hours later
when we came across the six-foot-long python
unhurriedly examining the chicken coop
a short ways from our tent
I did not regret having saved my dip
for the pure cold clear swimming pool,
unmistakably empty before I entered

poetry

waterless ocean

waterless ocean

it’s a curious feeling
this waterless ocean
sea + sand but no
bathing floating quenching

the water does all its usual things
but not to us

chock full of crocs with restless jaws
and box jellies that would unwittingly kill us
(the sign warns apply vinegar
+ immediately begin CPR –
the pain’s so excruciating
it’ll truly stop your heart)

we wander the shore
like Victorian ladies
who for now must keep
our lacy petticoats dry