my soul in the ocean

Standing on the beach in the pale moonlight
the sand as cold as ice
I know I’m alive

I’m leaving all the people behind
to the sound of city sirens
and faulty streetlights
that blur the night sky
to a half remembered dream

There’s salt in my eyes
and the water whispers across my skin
with the promise of a new world
lost beneath the waves

And I’m looking back
trying to remember all the things I loved
about this place that never owned my heart
despite the boys in the cut-throat alley
bleeding their way to manhood
and drinking their way to a better life
with a pick-up line ready on their tongues
for all the pretty girls
with champagne smiles

My own champagne smile forgotten
in the blood on my lips and the hands on my hips
another ceiling another night
another regret to bury in the morning light

Standing on the beach in the predawn rise
the sand as cold as ice
I know I’m alive

And I’m leaving all the memories behind

© Indie Adams 2012