Diving Deep - Shama

Flashlights on, scattering two thousand lumens,

we find each other.

Up we propel from the deep to this breathing reef—a seascape 

cut out from a magazine.

With sand under my nails, I trace your pruney fingers, 

you clasp my hand.

Barefoot we wade these shallow waters, toeing the rims

of oyster shells.

But, the ocean spills over land, a little too much,

and a little too soon—

my love songs undulate like the abandoned strands of kelp;

a seagull screeches 

in the distant glare: our visions blur the gulf—

that what consumed us was love or desire, 

who is to tell? 

The tide withers, heat runs through the shoreline

bleaching the corals, 

your grip loosens—the lagoon washes us away; 

our lights left flirting on the atoll.

Originally published by Gyroscope Review, January 2024

Shama has work featured in ONE ART, The Pierian, Gyroscope Review, and elsewhere. She writes from an old dusty corner of the earth and can sometimes be found on Bluesky @entangledrhyme.bsky.social and IG @entangledrhyme.