Awake by Sara Biel

I surface
Breach watery daze of dawn
Cringe deeper
Nestle into a nest of wolves
Thoughts scatter
A pattern of white caps
Do these marks mean anything to you?

My heart falls open
A vulnerable atlas
Archive of failure
Of rocky tumbles
Washed in ruminating waves

I come unmoored
Wander the lacy vacancy
At the core of my bones
Visit secrets I keep from myself
Memories I banished before
They were breathed into being
I float the endless looping hallways
My thoughts echo
Distant sound of windows breaking

I regret the time I’ve lost to this maze
Doubt seductive as a riptide
A legacy that leaves me
Twisted still
With too many words
No sound to set them sail

There are small moments
I come up for air
Slapped awake by the view from
This damp shadow

How long have I been dancing?
Whose blood stains my shoes?