Riptide

It’s sad you know?

The way people shift and change

like the moon’s gravitational pull,

bringing you in so close

then pushing you out to sea.

One minute you are belly laughing on carpet,

sipping wine, exchanging kisses.

The next you are just two bodies in a room,

moving about as if each other are in the way.

Clinging on to what was before,

even though it sunk to the bottom

long ago.

Hot summer nights laying in parks

dreaming up a future.

Now tired and bitter

seeking the end.

Sometimes that’s just the way it goes,

and there really is no going back.

Some things are damaged beyond repair.

Sometimes you have to let go,

of all the things you can no longer control.

Because it’s not fair to either of you.

That fire faded

matches don’t light underwater.

So you might as well swim to the top and catch your breath.

 

The heart of the ocean glows from above.

 

– Breelyn Shelkey