Ocean Restoration

The only hit I have ever welcomed was the slap of a wave

First, my ankles and then my thighs

Shocked by the coolness yet I welcome it again and again

When my waist is consumed and I gasp in delight

Even when I stumble back a step and lose my footing

I want more and relax as I go even deeper

The salt kisses my skin and the sun sparkles on each crest

I laugh freely as my neck is plunged into the darkness

As I begin to float and let each push plummet me closer to shore

I formulate a plan to return to the ocean

And back to the water I go

My body has become tolerant of all that assails

I pray my heart can handle the impact

That my thick skin somehow protects

The broken pieces of my heart that was once whole

Because the joy I feel in the depths

Exhilarates and mends and restores

The only hit I have ever welcomed was the slap of a wave

~Two years ago after returning from an ocean vacation, I spoke with a friend about the restorative qualities of which I believed the ocean possessed. How it could quite possibly be a cure for anything that ails.  She paused and then asked me, “Do you think it can mend my broken heart over my marriage that is falling apart? I didn’t know that my dear friend was struggling in her marriage and she went on to explain that there had been physical abuse. It broke my heart to hear her speak of everything she had experienced in silence. I wrote this piece in honor of her. ~

Give some love to Kelli J. Gavin by visiting here site here or by reading her previous entries at The Ugly Writers: