Here's the one that broke the dry spell - I am very not satisfied with it.
just when I had forgotten
the texture of the ocean
tired of tracing letters in the sand,
I was sitting on the shore
drying up, when the sea lion beached himself.
he called to me like a shipmate.
like a lost love.
I found my legs
stood gesturing, offering
to drag him toward the water.
waves lapped away the sand between my toes.
the lion chuffed, calmly.
I bent to wrap my arms around him, to pull him to the tide.
my feet stuck in the disappearing beach.
a seagull cried. the rip current struck.
the lion leapt into the water, pulling me with him.
the tingling sensation in my lungs gave way to
the feeling of his tail around my thigh, prodding me to move.
I leaned on him to kick. he pushed his head against my breast
from underneath. we fought upward.
breaching the surface of the waves
I gasped for breath and caught the eyes
of the lion, whiskers wide, as he did the same.
he stared green against the blue abyss.
“all mammals learn to swim,” he said.
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