Lost in the sea’s
unforgiving blue,
I seek you.
Before me
the day unscrolls
its naked scripture:
sun, vision’s burning field,
islands, faint presences
crumbling in the distance,
water, the fickle immensities
life is made
constant by.
And it strikes me
I love the sea
because it borders
this suffering world
and the next:
the soul, it is said,
travels in a boat
from a winding inland river,
homing clear-eyed
toward the ocean--
which is the bottomless
beyond.
And I know:
here, upon this beach,
wash the crushed remains
of what was once mortal:
bone and kelp,
driftwood and tentacle,
porous red coral--
keepsakes
life leaves behind
before
dissolving
back to brine.
I am home here, then,
whom the world
never loved,
and from its torn edges
I can almost see
it all end:
an onrushing tide,
a radiant sea-swell
sweeping away all appearance,
gentle eddies
whittling the self
till it is no longer
even sand.
I think of you
landlocked and lost
in another element--
your body.
The sea teaches me
love is a wish
not for safety
but for destruction.
I am not ashamed
to admit it:
I love you
the way water loves.
Which is to say
I wish the world
were through with you,
so you could return to me
ravaged, upon this shore:
a shell
held tight
inside my palm.

by J. Niel Garcia

Reposting this for a friend :)

Not exactly music but I wanted to share these poems of Billy Collins with you. I think I've actually fallen in love with literature and (an attempt at) writing all over again. Be prepared since these do not follow the usually conventions of poetry. It's more like a story --but not as definite as one. It still allows you that freedom to interpret it as you please. It's like you're being shown the take off point, but where you choose to go is entirely up to you.

Another thing I love is the seemingly lightheartedness of the poetry. It tackles familiar, everyday things... feelings... something almost anyone can connect with. But don't let that tone fool you :)

Anyway, I'm rambling again. I'm still currently going though his collection (aptly title Best Cigarette) and the ones I've posted are those I've fallen in love with. Am I so obviously swooning?

Oh, and if you feel like it, search youtube for the animated version of forgetfulness.