Salt-SwellThumps Through My Veins

The Ocean Is My Poem

“Salt-swell.” Image created by the author with Midjourney AI, all rights reserved.

I am an archipelago drifting
off the coast of California.

The salt-swell
thumps through my veins,

throbbing with life.
Without me, tides would rise

and fall and no one
would notice.

The ocean is my poem.
And when your steamer

breaks down, when you
are lost in the fog

with no land in sight —
at last, you’ll find a dock.

Last night I was really wishing for a dock. With my breathing problems made worse by a cold, I was wheezing so hard I could hardly move around the house. It’s really scary when you’re 37 years old and can barely make it from your bed to your chair due to your lack of airflow and your chronic headaches. Yes, I definitely needed to write this calming ocean poem.

American Writer

Also by Erie:

The Green Leaves — And Oil Paint And Paper

The Words of the Wayfarers