From the beaches of Laru

i strip away my clothes; it does not matter
who sunbathes on the rocks, drunk on the endless days.
i have things to do and the sea is waiting. 

i trade salt for salt, serving up my heart
on a silver platter.
“take it” i say, and finland turns
its great cold eye in sober curiosity. 
“take it” i scream, floating on my back
“i’ve been waiting for you, sun
and now all you do is burn; take it, please”
and finland offers me total invisibility.  

stranger, don’t speak
better turn to the trees
better melt into a puddle
swallow yourself whole
just do not speak, stranger
with your oaky ways
and bubbly waters 

and while the beaches of Laru brought me to my knees
and greyed my hair and wrinkled my skin
and stole my sleep
still i planted seeds in fertile soil
attuned to the strange dance of the north
where the sun and the moon spin irregularly  

the sea told me sweet fantasies
the forest filled my cup with magic
after all, what time hides in plain sight
is all this life
the rooting, the struggle, the blooming
the floating and freezing
the resisting and the accepting 

i no longer demand anything
from the sweet beaches of Laru
from the April snow
from the city fox prowling a dirt path.
instead i call on myself and
extend a hand to mother earth
and begin again.

Artwork by Danielle Amorim.