Slumber by the Sea

Peace is something that is hidden in plain sight but can never be found

Like an old childhood book laid askew on a bookshelf

Like a photo of a family hidden by other antiques on a mantle

Like dreaming

How a body can feel completely safe when its mind runs through unimaginable fancies

Yet, upon waking, people find that they don’t remember

Making pyramids

Going into an unforeseen world

Having supernatural powers

However, they do remember

Buying groceries,

Going to work,

And making food

So, people go throughout the day

Never knowing the tranquility they can find when they’re not awake

Some compensate by reading

The words on the page whisk them off of their feet from their own lives to whatever mountain, city, or small town the author choosing

Others choose adventure

The adrenaline rush of climbing Mt. Everest drowns out all of their doubts

The waves pounding upon the shore,

The blazing heat from the sky not speckled with clouds,

And the joy radiating off of other individuals is my alternative.

The current pulling me further away from thoughts of uncertainty, distrust, and irritation,

Letting me float in the middle of the water, knowing that I’ll always be supported

Sitting on a fuzzy beach towel,

Hearing the roar of a wave menacingly growl at the seashore

Then observing the previously snarling wave reduced to being a part of its sworn enemy—the sand—

An equal balance that can never be disrupted

At the beach, I feel as if I don’t need to think

With no care of what’s going to happen in the next:

Hour,

Minute,

Or second.

It doesn’t matter when I see the water rushing toward me,

Endless possibilities of what’s lurking in its depth,

Terrifying yet welcoming all at the same time.

As I finally feel a sense of calm rush over my body,

I know that I can lastly have a soothing slumber by the sea