A Mississippi River boat
Floats by a town you could easily forget
Down a body of water without much to say
For the past 80 years or so
Not since Huck Finn
And the earthquake that made it run backwards
And somewhere in that town I tried my best
To fit the entire worlds worth of dreams into
A brain no bigger than the little boy head
Inside my cowboy hat
As a child
And I watched those river boats hoping
I'd make it to the same ocean that they ran into
one day
And I did
And I've been to the coasts of the Atlantic
And waded in the shallow waters
Of what the busy ocean had to say to me
About taking you down if you step out of line
And I conquered what came my way
I survived those waves
Long enough to try my hand
Across the way
With a great leap
The other direction
To the Pacific
This time
And here I've landed
Like a bird that overestimated
Himself and his wingspan
And I gasp
And try to relax in the waters
That are bluer than I've seen
And that promise they're serene
And I look up
Covered in sand
To see your eyes staring back at me
Blinking and intrigued
But blinking slowly
And staring at me so gently
That I feel my breaths slow
And I sink
Into the warm that is beneath me
And I feel the sudden jolt
Of nothing but peace
Because your eyes are all the water
That I am in
When I look at you
And I'm not just immersed
I'm surrounded
In them
Slowly
And gently
And I'm breathing
In their water
I'm understanding
What the pacific waters
Have to say to me
About serenity
Coming my way
In your waves
That are gentle
And staring
Into me
