Deep And Tender [rev] Poem by Margaret Alice Second

A mollusc clinging to a rock-I let the waves wash
over me; if I can’t ride on them I’ll let the surf ride
me - right hand clinging to a rock and pressing my
right leg against another, left leg wedged in a tight
crevice when rollers try to break me away from
my new-found special rock friends

I sing to the sea about the sailor who should stop
roaming, pulling my hat over my face as waves
break, victory is mine this one time & water can’t
move me from my rock hold-out, it is a stalemate
- the sea and sun are still my friends and I can still
serenade them as much as I like

But the second day when rolling about in waves I
lose the game, the sea slams me onto sand so hard,
my left leg banged nearly broken, then the breakers
rolled cruelly over little stones, I bled on standing,
another rock-clinging attempt fails as the crashed
me down again; defeated I had to leave

Accepting that the angry, wildly relentless waves
don’t allow for age and gender - so LOVE, game
over - I give up, the sea won its game and I throw
it kisses as we drive off in a silence deep & tender
as I reminisce about my life-long love affair with
the beautiful, tempestuous sea…