I Am Oceanic Poem by Suzanne Hayasaki

Like the sea
I will not lie easy.
I will not lie back
At some man's command.
I am a fickle mistress.

My thighs are not your Scylla and Charybdis.
I do not wait for men to wreck their ships
And abandon their waiting wives
To live out their days in my paradise.

You may see nothing but me
But I carry many to their deaths
I shelter many in my depths
I stretch beyond your vision
In several dimensions.

So if you would woo me
Do it with reverence.
Do not pretend I am yours
To explore
To conquer
To exploit
Unless you wish to be scattered
On the winds of my whims
Like so much flotsam and jetsam.