Oceanid Veins

When the sand touches her bare paws —

No, when the brisk water sinks into her skin,
and the briny soak begins —

Now she begins again
the forgetting
that she is
nothing
but Dust. 

Instead, she is Sea and Sky;
     hydrous Phoenix,
Gaia’s down blankets,
Strewn with Poseidon’s precious stones:

Green Fluorite at Dawn      Apatite at Noon
Lapis Lazuli at Sunset      Blue Tiger Eye at Dusk.

Here, she dwells      in the

boundless     vial     of tears,     submitting         

    every      despair     to the frames of

Nereid mustangs     to bear;     and through 

    the allotment     of hours     she steeps,     

   those sorrows     weigh light,     carried with ease

     by the      strong       arms         Of the Sea

“Welcome to the Land of Thunder,”
she says, and
“Welcome to the Teal Kaleidoscope,”
she says,
smiling like stars.

But if you lean close you’ll hear her whisper,
“Welcome to my diamond-flecked satin sheets–”
And if you lean closer you’ll hear her whisper,
“Are you ready to fall in love?”
–and watch her fly straight into the waves.