by Amanda Valerie Judd
a poem is an ocean full of depths and reefs
filled with sharks and sailors and seaweed
filled with plastic and whale sperm
whipping up a tidal wave and a hurricane
a poem is an ocean working for industries
a poem is an ocean losing its relevance as a living thing
a poem is an ocean suffocating from pollution
a poem is an ocean cursing humans
a poem is an ocean swelling and eating land
like a starving man at a buffet
full of lobsters and crabs caught by fisherman
a poem is an ocean where Poseidon sits on his throne
with a drink in one hand and a cigar in the other
watching his men pillage shipwrecks
a poem is an ocean full of poets
drowning in a sea of similes and metaphors
still struggling to find meaning in it all
a poem is the ocean right now
outside my window
calm, lazily pushing wave after wave to the shore
grabbing for purchase but never able to hang on
desperate for a friend, a lover, a stranger who cares
this poem, this ocean, this moment
a point of no return
a lesson to be learned
a deserted island’s scrawled message for help
near a ragged hammock calling my name
a poem is an ocean, a river, a lake
a poem is a waterfall
with humanity going over the edge
Category: Featured, Poetry, SNHU Creative Writing, SNHU Student