Childhood Beaches
By Mohammad Awad
Tackling waves,
Tussle, wrestle Mother Nature,
Floating on ocean's surface
To defy gods gravity,
My younger self
Once worshiped wild oceans,
Now I tiptoe over sea shells,
Fear the claws of a crab
I have inconvenienced,
Cower in the chaos
beneath the lips
Of a wave,
White foam residue,
Wash over
Residual trauma,
The sea is the reflection of the sky
Without the stars,
Why venture into the ocean so late at night?
I was hoping to find love- or its understudy,
Now wave crashes feels as
Crushing weight on the body,
Physical restraint of a body,
Every sand grain
scratches,
feels unconsenting,
Disconcerting yet
Unconcerning,
death by a thousand shards
of sharpened sea salt,
Crystallising on old scabs,
Trauma in relapse-
Permanent salt in the wound,
Never noticed the suns scorch,
How it peels off the skin,
Jarring to the kisses
it once provided, warmth