Each word we exchange,
another breaststroke from the shore.
And there’s no turning back, I’m afraid
I’m too far out, heart draped in night,
the water far too deep

And you are
the moon that hangs
low and bright and whispering
above the sea

You are the stars that flicker
miles overhead,
flecks of diamonds
webbed across my sky

Do you see me?
Down here among the waves
indiscernible
from the ocean, ink
dappled in ripples of your light

And I swear I won’t drown here
I tell myself,
I won’t get lost in you

I’ll build a boat
from all the driftwood I can find,
I’ll weave a sail
from all the hope you’ve given me,
to catch the dopamine in my veins
like wind
and propel out of this

I tell myself
I’ll leave this beautiful, terrifying place

but my lips
are liars