The lure to ride the waves

I wish to be on a board in the sun.

The swells of the sea undulating beneath my open thighs

As I scan the horizon

It’s peaceful

And yet exhilarating

My memory is strong

Three summers gone

The board is long

And unwieldy

As I am not used to its length

Or weight

It was purple and white

I recall an intense feeling of excitement

Building within

One for the bucket list

A girl of the sea

I had always been

But had never taken the plunge

And ridden the waves before

At least

Not on my feet

The adrenaline that I feel

Being tossed and turned by

The ocean’s current

Should frighten me

Make me more cautious

But I’m addicted to that high

The way it makes me feel

Invincible

When I emerge from the surf

Smiling

And breathless

But balancing upon fiberglass

And the power of the sea

That was a new test

As with everything new

I was focused

As well as thrilled and nervous

But I was all in

And all in it turned out to be

I’d ride the waves to the shoreline

Flying off into the water

Before I made land

Laughing and paddling out to try once more

Except for that last time…

Like every other attempt

 I caught the swell

And rode the wave to shore

But that final time it came faster

The surging current swiftly moving inland

Like a bullet train

And I was caught off guard

My board hit the sand

Flinging me off

Pitching me face first into the sand

A horrifying sight I’m sure

To those sitting there

I managed to stand up

Sand in my mouth

And my head ringing from the impact

Not realizing the damage I had done

The wounds caused

And just how lucky I had been

But despite the danger

Despite what happened

The lure to ride those waves again

Tugs at me

As the ocean does to the shore

:

*Continuing with my (apparent) aquatic theme, this is not new but from two summers past. And the lure still tugs at me.

©SirenSong1208

Photo taken from Pinterest

Snow White

Snow White.

She said I reminded her of Snow White.

The dark curls

the blue eyes

and the red lips against pale skin.

 .

Initially, I thought she was romanticising

as all new mothers are wont to do.

The newborn baby girl,

desperately wanted after the arrival of two rambunctious boys.

The utter perfection of a new life.

Somehow mere words cannot express

the beauty that is found in such an arrival.

 .

But then she showed me

and it was as she said.

The hair, the eyes, the mouth, the skin

and the nickname stuck.

:

*This is not a new piece. I first posted this two years ago but I was reminded of it and it made me smile so here it is again.

©SirenSong1208

Photo taken from Pinterest

September 11th

On this day, fifteen years ago, life changed.

I was a new mother

grappling with changes

finding joy in discovery

and excited about the journey I had embarked upon

with this tiny person I had brought into the world.

Then it all changed.

The world became darker

filled with unspeakable horror and pain

and craven disregard for human life.

I can still recall where I was and what I was doing that day

of being glued to the television

of watching buildings that I had grown up with

smoke

and ultimately crumble before my eyes

before the eyes of the world.

The fear I had within me was cloying and suffocating.

I knew people who worked near there

the woman whom I called my little sister

traveled through that building every morning and evening. 

For what seemed like hours I tried to find her, to speak to her

to make sure that she was safe.

Ultimately she was,

but the horror of her experience was not something she could brush off

like the dust that settled upon the city.

For days, for weeks I watched the footage

still unable to fathom such evil

hoping each day that another survivor might be found

that another family might have a miracle.

I read the stories

my tears falling copiously upon the page

knowing some names

not knowing scores of others

but their stories were now for everyone to read.

I was moved by the incredible acts of bravery

and heartened by the way the world softened

for just a bit

and gathered together as brothers and sisters

differences aside.

I found out that the greatest loss, outside of the city itself,

came from the town I grew up in

a train ride from the city

a comfortable suburban haven by the sea

and I grieved anew for the losses.

Those six degrees of separation

becoming pronounced. 

I held my child closer

my heart heavy

wishing that this new reality was not hers, not ours

but knowing that this world, our world

was forever changed

the monster was no longer

under the bed.

:

©SirenSong1208

Photograph by Jake Rajs

Summer is…

Summer is…

Endless days of adventure and discovery

and slow easy mornings.

It is salty-tinged mermaid days

and firefly nights;

catching them in a jar

only to release them

en masse

a bright torch

in the evening air.

.

Summer is…

Lazy days laying on a blanket

surrounded by the verdant green

of lawn and leaves

watching swiftly moving clouds take shape

overhead

as birds practice their calls

and insects whirr about flowers.

It is picking plump raspberries from the vine

and having more wind up in your mouth

than in the bowl.

.

Summer is…

Cotton candy at a baseball game

sticky goodness and broad smiles

and it is the velvety darkness of a summer night

the moment before slumber takes me

as I lay listening

to the sound of crickets

performing their nocturnal symphony.

:

©SirenSong1208

Photograph taken by SirenSong1208

Blowing bubbles

She smiles with childish glee

the pure pleasure of blowing bubbles

an age-old childhood pursuit.

Trying to blow them as big as you can

before they burst.

Watching as that small

unburst

kaleidoscope floats away.

Cheering it on.

Wondering how far it will travel

before it slips

from sight.

:

©SirenSong1208

Photograph taken by SirenSong1208

I never

I never held you

but I knew you.

You were a part of me.

Blood of my blood.

Bone of my bone.

A small whisper in my soul

that left behind a scar

when you were taken from me.

.

I said these words

once

twice

three

four times.

Too many times.

Each time I tucked the memory away

a touchstone on a quiet day.

To remember

the faces

I never saw

the voices

I never heard

but the souls

I will always love.

:

©SirenSong1208

Artwork by Marci Oleszkiewicz

 

 

Memories bloom

The view fades from her eyes

but the memories bloom

unencumbered by lack of sight

Lush and vivid

each time she remembers

it’s like seeing it 

for the first time

as they warm her soul

with beauty and joy

:

©SirenSong1208

Photograph taken from Pinterest