I want to return to the sea: 
sway in the currents 
travel the tides 
hide behind barnacled rocks 
dine among the pliant blades 
of seagrass. 

No papers, no books, no bills 
nothing to clean, nothing 
to maintain. 

Why did we ever leave the water? 
What beguiled us so? 
It must have been the sun 
reaching down with golden stories 
of more. 

Now I am tired of pounding rain 
and murdering droughts, 
torn by the work, the wear, the wars. 
I want one thing, nothing more: 

to return to the simple solace 
of the swaying sea. 

Tamara Madison

is the author of the chapbook The Belly Remembers and two full-length volumes of poetry, Wild Domestic and Moraine, all published by Pearl Editions. Her most recent chapbook, On the Fault Line, was released in March by Picture Show Press. Her full-length poetry collection Morpheus Dips His Oar is forthcoming from Sheila-Na-Gig Editions. Her work has appeared in Chiron Review, The Worcester Review, A Year of Being Here, ONE ART, The Writer’s Almanac, and many other publications.

A swimmer, dog lover, and native of the southern California desert, Ms. Madison has recently retired from teaching English and French in a Los Angeles high school. Read more about her at:
https://tamaramadisonpoetry.com