Inspired on vacation to Vancouver Island, poetry flows from this avid traveller. A call to the ocean with bittersweet reflections on travel & belonging.
I don’t usually write poetry, but I recently took a vacation to Vancouver Island – mainly Ucluelet and Tofino – to recharge and foster creativity. Inspiration overtook me and something like poetry fell out. I’ve included ocean-themed pictures I’ve taken over the years to go with my words.
I have been numb to my life.
The only time I feel
is when
the wind is on me.
The thing about the ocean is
it is impossible to tell
whether
the salt water on your face
is from the waves
or your eyes.
That feeling when
you are standing ankle
deep
in water
and a wave washes the sand
from beneath your feet.
A quick steady pull out from under you,
a siren call,
over and over.
I will not be lured out.
You will not trick me.
It is not the ocean that drowns me.
I am the storm,
throwing myself against the rocks.
Screaming.
I am
breakingbrilliantshatteringshimmering.
I am the storm.
Hear me.
This is my heart’s home.
Here,
where the sea and the sky’s lips meet in a kiss,
here,
in the crevices worn in rocks,
here,
in shells scattered on sand.
Do not look for it in my chest.
That hollow cage never held it anyway.
Look for my heart near cedar and salt,
nestled safely
’til I return.
