riptide

you go down 
i'll take it slow
go down where the dead people go-

awash
to the shore,
lie flat like a shell

face crack
wide open to the skull
sun bleached bells

ring bright 
sunburst tones in the eyes-
those eyes yet

alive
but not, held open to the
briny wave

come 
tongue clean the 
face god gave.

beckoned 
the slap cold water
heartbeat of deep blue belly

a seahorse,
dolphin eyes, the tentacles
of jelly.

solitude 
sun inside the skin,
water

depth
sink
in.

far off 
hear them?
the living, noisemaking as they do

i churn
in the riptide
one exhale behind you.

you go down...
i'll take it slow
go down where the dead people know.