An Ocean In The Sea

A dream, a nightmare, a reality that I myself must come to face

An Ocean In The Sea
by Keaton Foster



Waves close
upon a shore.
Once more,
they stand,
they scream.

While I am deep—
way out,
too far to swim,
too close to sink.

The middle, I think:
an ocean in the sea.

How did I get here,
way out wide,
beyond the shore,
beyond forevermore?

I don’t know.
How could I?

Did I dream?
A nightmare?
Reality sparred?

One day,
I was on land.
The next day,
I was here—
far away.

Hope—
all but an idea,
crashing close.

Further still,
those who plead,
loving me still,
while I, myself,
love least of all.

I know how to swim,
but when I try,
I just begin to sink.

Like a million stones—
concrete, these bones.
Heavier, I’ve become.

Motionless, I float.
Hopelessly buoyant.

Weights pull me down.
All around:
predator and prey.

In time, maybe I’ll go
far below,
into the depths of nothing,
into the darkness of home.

I’ll reside, quite alone—
an ocean in the sea.

All but a dream,
made impossibly real.

Some might say—
not I—
that it was me
who brought myself here:

to the deepest nowhere,
to the middle of nothing,
in a place of overabundance,
a place both cruel and kind,
within the vastness of my mind,
within the greatness of my soul.

I just won’t know.

An ocean in the sea.
Nightmares are as real
as the voices of those
upon the shore,
screaming for me to swim—
while all I do is float.

And if I try?
Further down,
I just sink...


An Ocean In The Sea
Written by Keaton Foster Copyright © 2008-2024