Ocean Body Love
My ribcage and abdomen have been hallowed out
With scapel and scoop; my organs removed.
The sides scraped down to the flesh.
All that remains are my heart and my lungs,
Left behind to keep me alive.
So as long as I breathe and as long as I beat
The hope is that I’ll see life through.
Now my organs sit in a bowl at my side
With intestine holding stomach for comfort.
And before I’m sewn up, one step still is left:
To fill me up to the brim.
Someone came along to finish the job
With a pitcher of sparkling water.
They poured the water in,
Filling me to the brim,
And stitched me up right quick.
Now an ocean fills my torso.
It is teeming with sea life;
It’s got fish, it’s got sharks, it’s got whales.
So I still have to eat to appease them
Lest they wreak havoc on my heart and lungs.
With no moon for an eye to control my inner tide,
Emotion has taken up this position.
When I’m blissful and peaceful
My ocean is calm and the fish go about their business.
Now the whales like to sing to each other
When I’m in love and bursting with glee,
But when heartbreak and grief grip me
My sharks take to nipping my heart.
Anxiety and fear are accompanied
By rolling, high wave, pitching storms,
And when I am trembling, on the the brink of disaster,
I can feel a tsunami mounting.
But the ocean stands still
And my sea life freezes
When I dare to tell you I love you.
The whales want to sing,
And the sharks want to bite,
And the fish simply want to play.
My ocean is caught between storm and calm.
Four words determine the outcome.
I long to rip open the scar on my side,
Watch this ocean pour out of me.
Let the sharks flop pathetically on the cold floor.
But the whales and the fish I’ll scoop up in my arms
And place them gently in the tub.
I’ll find that bowl of organs
And put them back where they go.
But for now, an ocean fills my torso.