The sea swallows me up / gulps me down / makes me
into a smooth stone, small enough to fit in your pocket.
Hold me in your palm and trace the etchings of waves.
Press a shell to your ear and hear the echoes of screams.
I am slimy kelp and spiny coral / bloated beached whale
and shriveled sardine. Mostly I am drowning.
Choking on salt water, thrashing in the briny foam.
But water is not cruel. The ocean is just hungry.