Thirsting

by Mallory Sluder
(WA, USA)

Its luster captures my vision.
Velvet waves and ebony depths
Drink in miles and miles of emptiness.
Ancient corridors filled with pink coral
Entice me to explore beneath the surface.

The silky ripples flounder above my head.
I want it to envelop me and like liquid ivory,
Cleanse my flesh and make me pure.
As pure as I was when I escaped the solace
of the womb. Gulls soar above me, they cut

Holes through the clouds and tear
the sky into strips of silver. I am weightless,
here, behind this wall of bubbles.
My arms and legs are freed from my body
and I can fly without the strain of gravity.

Here, I can abandon reality.