Of the Sea
We used to go down to the sea.
Do you remember?
Back when we were more beasts than people?
The sea is an insatiable writhing mass of longing
Oh, it would strip you flesh from bone, skin from soul
We’d sit among the shifting grains of sand and echo its cries
We lick salt sprays off the hollows of our palms
The tears of our ancestors, do you hear them calling still?
We are here now, just for now
You and I, we are rainswept souls, full of thunder and storm
We bury our wildness here. Our untamable girlhood
We slit its throat and let it bleed into the white laced waters
We shed our hides and bite our tongues
Be docile, be sweet, be tame
But sometimes when I dream, the sea calls to me still
Let go, let go, you are still too young
My shame holds me captive, but a part of me calls back
I will, I will, I will
Do you remember?
Back when we were more beasts than people?
The sea is an insatiable writhing mass of longing
Oh, it would strip you flesh from bone, skin from soul
We’d sit among the shifting grains of sand and echo its cries
We lick salt sprays off the hollows of our palms
The tears of our ancestors, do you hear them calling still?
We are here now, just for now
You and I, we are rainswept souls, full of thunder and storm
We bury our wildness here. Our untamable girlhood
We slit its throat and let it bleed into the white laced waters
We shed our hides and bite our tongues
Be docile, be sweet, be tame
But sometimes when I dream, the sea calls to me still
Let go, let go, you are still too young
My shame holds me captive, but a part of me calls back
I will, I will, I will
Sudiksha is an avid lover of poetry, coffee, and mythology. She has had some of her poems be included in zines like the latte_press and honeyfirelit.