Ocean (a poem)

[serafina20]

We did a free write today in my reading class with Crazy Crying Teacher (who did not cry today). To my surprise, I really liked what I wrote. It was a poem in prose form, and I could barely read it to the class because my handwriting was that bad, but my group did that thing where they all looked at me, then at their papers, and back at me like I'd done something magical. All I did was write about the freaking ocean. So, I turned it into a poem:

I want to learn how to surf and spend my mornings on
gentle swells with salt water in
my eyes my nose my hair beading off my skin
and board in the ocean where
I belong.
I want to dive deep under the water--avoiding the fish
but seeking the dolphins
or go to Vancouver to kayak with killer whales--
Orcas, and feel the cold, rough waves push me
around and strain my muscles fighting to
stay on course. I want to swim
through sun-warmed waters and for it
to be summer so I don't have to worry
about cold. I want to be
pushed and tumbled by waves and
swim fast in front of them until one
catches up with me and lifts me and I
feel the joyous terror rush through me
at the feeling of being
helpless
out of control
for one moment and I don't have to
Worry because my life is
no longer in my hands and
rests in the hands of
Fate or Destiny or Chaos and
I just don't care. I want
to be drawn out to see, bobbing
in a boat, wind in my salt-heavy hair
and sun browning my arms. I want
blond streaks in my hair as
testament to the days spent
playing in the wide
playground that covers
the World.