I splash my hands and legs, propel and drift
upon the ocean not too far from home,
a day trip undertaken, self-care gift.

Each stroke massages muscle, calming me,
an anxious being scared of loneliness,
estranged and yet at peace with privacy.

A dozen years without the calming mains
to ground me, help me find a peace within
a world designed to break its denizens.

My muscles, sore and sluggish, failure nears,
abandon me, betray me to the deep
where screams are trapped in bubbles no-one hears.

But here I find the peace I’ve craved so long;
I breathe the water, grow a tail, and join
the underwater creatures in their song.

Forget my life ashore, for here at hand
are all the friends and merriment I need
and naught that worried me while trapped on land.