A View from Far Away (by Chris Townley)
What do you see
as the translucent orange sun
sinks into its ocean baptism?
Is it memorable
like the pastor’s sturdy hands
holding your lanky teenage body?
Do you flinch
like that clenching convulsion
before a wave slams your dry belly?
And what about your breath,
trapped and sinking slow,
held at depths you’d never believe?
Did you tumble beneath
the waterline, dreaming new worlds,
only to gasp from christened abuse?
What do you see
when the glistening yellow sun
can’t help but rise, to glow again?
This is haunting and visceral. I felt it.