At night, the ocean is a kaleidoscope.

  Fractals lap about themselves and fall

Over surf, alight; the heart a soft cerulean.

Like its tide, we drift in and out of shores,

  Tread to float against the current

Carrying forth cool shades of blue.

People, like clouds, are lifted by lightness

  Until a wedge opens wide the channel

To pour heavy upon the thirsting earth,

To catch the sweetness of the marine layer

  Sweeping in; the taste of salt and Pacific

Moisture as it settles back into dew.

When we stepped in, we embraced

  The motion of waves, wisps of seagrass

Brushing gentle a deepening skin.

Now, they’re dismantling the breakwater.

  We sought its harborage, forgetting

Anchors won’t ground without a moor.

Yet, never immovable against the gyre,

  Against wanting the depth to precede,

Only wanting to hold in all weathers,

Seeking the ikigai, the only point of connection,

  The sole essence of becoming

Whole, for navigating the breaking seas.

We can sway like lillies where we will,

  But as you are light, I am water—

Understood only by sky

Falling against me.