Evensong

On a beach of shell and stone, to clean soiled body with salted foam
And at the ocean's saline touch I find an eager yet reluctant home.
Alas, the sea repels the touch of flesh and coasts away from land
The water, as well, resists the shore and pushes beyond sand

O farewell, my sea. Farewell to thee.
I shall miss the words you held to me;
Your hushing whisper in the night,
your clean waters and caps of white.

And yet the Sun, she warms the face, the waves of longing failed to subdue
My eyes go wayward from biddable sight to bare the ocean in her view
And thinking, now, as I did then about the water's green delight
I wish to hug the liquid's edge and dive into my love tonight

O farewell, my land. Farewell to you.
I restore the love I stole from you.
Your leafy limbs and live embrace,
Your worshipped earth of soil and grace.

I swim out with the tide, undulating en masse, as if the sea would seethe,
but cannot give all to the heightening tide as long as I still breathe.
The depths encircle my body's frame, and cuddle my closing lung
In fading light and numbing water, my evensong is sung

O farewell, my life. Farewell to all.
My love will catch me as I fall.
And as my rosy heart dies cold
In water's love, I shall unfold.