Seasick

She wasn’t prepared for how her body

would deceive her

how her own flesh would be so quick

to give away

hunger meant to feed her soul.

We underestimate

the undertow of the universe

how it pulls

our corporeal thingness far from shore

            to the primordial

so that we may swirl below surface

with life first arose

and how small we are in the company

 of such a force.

Her body succumbs to exhaustion

deforms, feels pain

as the new life gains presence, strengthens

takes shape.

It must feed off her and she must submit

to the current

let it do with her what it will

bob with the nausea

trust she will stay afloat in this space

where her body

is not hers and the being not complete

that time will

one day wash ashore two wholes.

First published: ESME, 12 Sept 2017. Web.