Aquaphobia

The phosphorescent plankton glows blue with the rise of each wave,

Then falls dark with a crash.

At night, from the shore, the ocean seems safe,

Its extent unseen, unknown, uncontemplated

Like when I was young,

Riding in my grandparents' car at night

Over the dreaded high-level bridge that skirts the great gray lake--

"Where is the lake at night?" I asked.

"It goes away," responded my grandmother.

And it satisfied me to know only that.

Comments

[palinurus]

A mysterious light in the darkness and a dark crash, contrasted with the oxymoronic safety of the angry sea, then the dreaded bridge, high above the threatening lake, and the safety of an answer that, like the ocean itself, is both more and less than it appears. I think it's very good.

[Remainderman]

Mystical and metaphysical.

[Blue Clinkers]

Thanks for the commentary Palinurus and Remainderman. The poetry workshop was kind of fun. I think I ought to plug the National Writing Project for doing the parents workshops concurrently with the kids . . .