Monster in Water

Tattooed skin rises to the surface
Fallowed, pale hills,
humps on the horizon
Face turned to the tile,
ridged backbone scraping ceramic
Calming the beast in warmed waves,
choking the panic of a thousand voices
that swell the ocean tide
The moon has no power here,
except in a maddening heart
Erratic tides that ebb
and flow in a panicked push
Again and again,
swamping the skin

Calm the monster in the water
Let her scrape the bottom,
plumb the depths,
reveal all hidden in the night and
beneath the scabbing scales
Chink the armor,
watch her turn in the wake,
face half in, half out the water
A large, blue-green eye,
watching you,
watching herself,
waiting for the tide to ebb

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