The Sun and the Sea

Amanda Lui ‘23

You don’t need to talk. It is in your eyes.

Stay alive stay alive

She would dance with you, Hold you.

And like a warm blanket, Or a toasty crackling campfire, You would just bask in the heat, Lazy limbs drifting through honey, Eyes locked in on your sun.

Stay alive stay alive

It burned red and blistered, Lashes of fire sputtering up from beneath the surface Dried out the air.

And you were left with cracked lips, Gasping at the emptiness.

Stay alive stay alive

Drowning came first. As you wandered along the bottom of the sea, With salt reddened eyes, head tilted up, Searching for sun rays, To tell bottom from top, They wouldn’t reach for you anymore.

So, you carved gills into your neck, Sharpened your teeth into points, Breathed in inky black water of the depth, And began to kick.