Blue eyes, sometimes grey and stormy
Others clear as cloudless day. One moment safe
Enveloped in translucent depths
Next, the ice wall melts
Glaciers crash below; an enormous splash
Waves build
A mountain face of swirling color, kaleidoscope of shimmering light
Smothering
Drowning
Swallowing blue and salt and foam
Choking
Spewing
Struggling to swim up
Desperate for air
Weak arms and legs struggle against the swirl of white
The surface looms, dancing
Unattainable
Ocean mass weighing down. Blue is all that is known
Kelp entangling limbs in their slick embrace
Brown eyes, vast, the darkest depths of the universe
A deep cavern beckons
A warm breath of air, summoned from the deep, loosens the chill of the ocean’s grip
One blink holds all existence
Reflecting pools of stardust on damp skin
Calm
Safe
Loved
Stars shine against the sky’s backdrop
A tableau of flickering candle lights
Ethereal glow upon the ocean’s surface
Ready
Beautiful poem yet also a stark reminder of the consequences and perils of living out of balance with nature. There’s so much each stanza, each line, word, and noun concept. And much left to interpretation as any great poem does. I see and feel the struggle of a polar bear trying to survive in a world altered by climate change.