there was never anything until
suddenly there was, and
it turns out it had all
been here all along
matter creates matter destroys
matter, but tell me,
what’s the matter, darling?
don't you know that i can see the moon
in your eyes, all craters and imperfection
and life and strength and love?
did you know that i can see the beginnings
of myself all the way up until it ends with
you, you, you, you with your
vulcan love of everything
they say that love is all sunny
days and green fields and sweet honey
but don’t they realize that honey
comes from bitter, harsh stings,
don’t they realize that the ocean is
so much more than lazy, sweet tides?
if you have taken a coastal nap and
woken up to the soft, stern warning of
saltwater licking at your ankles,
telling you that while life originated in those
saline waves, life is just as sure to fade there,
then they would know
if you have ever had your mother yell at you
for staying out too late without texting back
all anxious anger and restless worry
if you have ever yelled back at your mother
only to immediately remember every single
hand-crafted piece of her heart
that she ever gifted you
then you would know
the ocean gifted us with the same salinity
that we carry within our blood
and yet she is still more than able and willing
to gouge out stone
to round out glass
we leave marks on everything we love, you know,
whether we realize it or not -
and the way the sun leaves little pyrite-gold flecks
on the deep lapis of our skin proves it
we break off flower heads press them between pages
to remember
we carve letters into trees and leave locks on bridges
to remember
we ruffle sleep-tousled hair and leave bruises and bites
to remember
that we are alive;
that we have been there;
that we will always exist;
we will return to the stars from which we came
and i, for one, look forward to spending the rest of never
with the likes of you.