Blue

We escaped to sea

as twenty-somethings with

the city still buzzing in our bones.

We rushed away with our breath

still trailing like smoke from trucks,

our eyes like the crowded blushing

of sidewalk gardens, our ears deaf

to the thunder of the stars.

We watched the sea

as twenty-somethings

bathing in the luxury of a clean,

leather chair and a mouth stained 

with coffee.

We watched the waves rise and pull, 

rise and pull,

with softening faces

 that could still forget

 sighing paychecks, bruised shoes,

 and sleepless nights.

Faces that remembered the ache

to run barefoot on a steaming

summer day, fearless of splinters.

Oh, to fall

fast, hard, fully

in wild summer sweat

into cold, hazy, blue --

pulling and kicking our tired bodies

through heavy water

that smells of stars.

Oh, to swim, then,

with backs as strong as boardwalks,

and eyes as free as sailboats.