Saturday, November 5, 2016

Undertow by Dean Young

People looking at the sea, 
makes them feel less terrible about themselves, 
the sea's behaving abominably, 
seems never satisfied, 
what it throws away it dashes down 
then wants back, yanks back. 
Comparatively, thinks one vice president, 
what are my frauds but nudged along 
misunderstandings already there? 
I can't believe I ever worried 
about my betrayals, thinks the analyst 
benefitting facially from the sea's raged-up mist. 
Obviously I'm not the only one suffering 
an identity crisis knows the boy 
who wants to be a lawyer no more. 
Nothing can stay long, cogitates the dog, 
so maybe a life of fetch is not a wasted life. 
And the sea heaves and cleaves and seethes, 
shoots snot out, goes to bed only to wake 
shouting in the mansion of the night, pacing, 
pacing, making tea then spilling it, 
sudden outloud laughter snort, Oh what the 
heck, I probably drove myself crazy, 
thinks the sea, kissing all those strangers, 
forgiving them no matter what, liars 
in confession, vomitters of plastics 
and fossil fuels but what a stricken 
elixir I've become even to my becalmed depths, 
while through its head swim a million 
fishes seemingly made of light 
eating each other.