Once More in the Depths
I miss you, blue-haired boy, vanished again
like the ripple of a skipped stone. I have
never understood your leaving— a thing
that must be born. How long must I remain
underwater this time? Grief bubbles up
as I remember how to breathe with gills.
I swim as best I can to make the days
seem shorter, relearn deep sleep to survive
the ache of night. What is it about love
that won’t let me quit, that won’t let me go?
I know how fishing works, this game of lines
and casts, the baited hook that catches light,
catches me as I bite again, no match
for your allure, the pull of your reeling.