a poem for zoe

you are the sea
i am the pier

you are voluminous, full, salty, swelling and retreating
moved by the moon

you crash into me
again and again
you rage
you surround

a part of me is always encompassed by you.
a part of me touches the land
the land that you will never reach.

i am a bridge
between land and sea
between other and you

it's stormy these days
and my limbs are covered by what you've brought
and what has been allowed to grow
fixed barnacles
seaweed singing it's exaggerated sweep in the push and pull of you

i hold things that are part of you
things that remind me i am foreign to you,
things that wouldn't be with me if not for you.
i am both
an intruder and a friend

your salt has flavored me
your waters have colored me
where we meet i am dark
as i move away from you
i lighten

but i will not go
no
i am here to reach you
to share you with the land
to connect

you are beautiful
you are a privilege to be part of
in rough waves and stillness
you speak truth

i am here
i am listening
always