Revolutions
Houston, TX
2021, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
six times of revolving around the sun
had not prepared me of the aqueous
shot of adrenaline up my webbed veins
and my hollow bones that echoed in
the newfound submersion in the water.
my first time, head thoroughly under,
deep in the tip of the southern hemisphere.
hands grab at nothing but air bubbles
that escape my panic-stricken lungs,
I flail my limbs, kicking to surface.
once I gasp, I sink my head under
again, but this time less hesitant,
and in my raw-tipped fingers
I reign in
the waves of the sea, ogle eyes wide at
the silent, patient fish, painted coral.
the next time I dive into the underworld
is when six more sun-turns have occurred.
murky, barely translucent laps up to
my shoulders and I tread further away,
the salty ocean reminiscent of tear taste.
when I wash ashore, dead scales clutch to
my skin and the oil remnants stick with
unforgiveness.
I rest on the beads of plastic,
topped with fibers of sand, and inhale as
the next wave crushes the exhale, rising.
Reflection
Reflection
At the age of six, I briefly spent a winter in the southernmost tip of the world in remote Australia; there, I submerged in the uninhabited waters and learned to tame the waves and go with the flow of nature. Six years later, I relocated near the Gulf of Mexico in the northern area of the bay, where I was overwhelmed by the brown, suffocative waters; this process of two opposite waters by my homes inspired me to write of my experiences with our oceans. I want to share with my viewers that our actions must be now and that there is no time to let by; I strongly encourage raising awareness and advocating for our earth. Through exploring water through my personal connections and memories, I’ve learned that short time periods can still lead to great negative change, and hope to add my voice to speaking about the importance of our water.