I Have Been Living 

I have been living
closer to the ocean than I thought—
in a rocky cove thick with seaweed.

It pulls me down when I go wading.
Sometimes, to get back to land
takes everything that I have in me. 

Sometimes, to get back to land
is the worst thing a person can do. 
Meanwhile, we are dreaming: 

The body is innocent.
She has never hurt me.
What we love flutters in us.

From House of Poured Out Waters by Jane Mead. Copyright © 2000 by Jane Mead. Used with permission of the author and the University of Illinois Press. All rights reserved.