the seabed and the sky

Text version :

slumbering at the bottom of the sea
cold and dark and deep
where the sunlight doesnt reach
surrounded by murky depths
no one wants to traverse
how will i dig myself out
if i cant even see

skin soaked, eyes closed
i never could swim
and i guess
i no longer float

i could once.

how sporadically it leaves me
and suddenly i sink
like a stone dropping down
to depths unknown
and i dont know
how to find my way to the sun

haunted only by memories of warmth i
belong to the cold seabed i think
my soul tethered there
sometimes it jerks free
and pulled like a rotting waterlily from the ground
i break through the surface
sound shattering my deafening silence
sun warming my frozen face
the wind sighing on my wet skin
golden light draping me

scooped from the darkness
i shine like a wet dying thing
unused to the hot glory of the sky
bright and shimmering; i feel alive
water suffusing out of my lungs
fresh air sinking into me
my heart pounding in my ears
gasping breathing alive
alive alive alive alive alive
broken out of the amber eyes smarting in the light

the wet drag of my cold finger on my warming skin
akin to wonder
transformed in the warmth i
dont recognise myself
too used to the loneliness of darkness
enforced solitude
joy looks strange on me
the reflection of the sun in my eyes
the shine of copper in my hair
the salt encrusted stretch of my smile
tipping my head
up
to the sky
warm and blue
rays of sunlight like shards of glass
cutting through the melancholy
the pain of the heat jolting me awake
rekindling my life
heat after a lifetime of frost

but i dont belong to the sky
and the invisible air holding me up
capsizes
treading water gasping pushing reaching
hands stretched up
up up up up
up to the golden light
i cant reach.
i try to reach reach reach reach reach and reach
yanked down sharply
pulled
the water roaring in my ears
flailing shaking tumbling the slap of the water shredding my skin
freezing my bones
i hear my scream echoing
anguished howl driven my memories of golden light and gentle smiles
i belong to the seabed
freezing in
pitch darkness
sickened by memories of the sun
cursed to lick the salt off my lips and yearn


crushed by my longing and pain and melancholy
suffocating at the bottom of the sea
head tipped
upwards; i am blind;
towards;
the blackness that leads to the sky.
i want to float
dig myself out of the sand
the frost that holds me
reach for the sky
rise up to the golden warmth of the surface
and stay

i belong to the seabed.
but i want to belong to the sky.

Just want to start this off by saying how much of a joy it always is to read your work, the lush imagery is something that my mind absolutely devours. The prose you use is something my mind likes to gorge on, hung onto every syllable.

This poem is like the crevice nudged between depression and melancholia when you're forced to give up your humanity lest it be killed by the pain. Loving those bright, rich emotions and feelings while knowing that you're not meant for those things, seems like you corrupt all the goodness you find. That desperation is conveyed so bloody well, grasping at the light while a bitter, resigned part knows there's no point, you're not a creature of sunshine.

"i no longer float

i could once." this is very reminiscent of childhood innocence methinks

"haunted only by memories of warmth i" so real

"haunted only by memories of warmth i" but it never lasts

"joy looks strange on me" not very used to happiness and the moment you start getting comfortable it gets torn away from you

and deep down inside you want to curse yourself for being so ungrateful, never happy, never even satisfied, and all you can do is want, want, want; your greed astonishes you and because of it, you think you deserve the pain of never being fulfilled. nice.

as always, loved it, looking forward to more <3333

This is really, really good. I'm going to have to save this to a Google Doc I fill with links to poems I like.

Such a good read.. tells of sometimes I find myself in the in-between..
I'm will be bold to sermon strength through this words. Because in the real world Should being pulled back to the seabed be penance of a wrong step or intentional fall into the seabed?

And when the skies got revealed, it was a relief, yet the current keeps pulling me back. I'm I cursed to dwell in-between or do I get redemption to experience longer warmth of the skies against the frost. Did I get too comfortable in the depths of darkness.

After all, I should belong in the light and not darkness!

Salutations! I have spawned here for a semi-okay review. I apologise in advance for my terrible vocabulary (＞0＜；)


I really liked this. Your vocabulary is immaculate (unlike mine). I don't see many stories and poems that use such colorful words.


I love how it conveys an intense feeling of longing, and longing for something you can't have. For example
"i belong to the seabed.
but i want to belong to the sky."

This makes me really empathize with the feeling. I can tell the longing for things so much it hurts. I also love this:

"and suddenly i sink
like a stone dropping down
to depths unknown
and i dont know
how to find my way to the sun"

I feel this. Like the light is gone and there's no way to reach it.


Overall, this is a truly beautiful poem. I love the setup of all lowercase letters. I don't really have anything to criticise. Keep up the amazing work!!


(^^) Sincerely, Ash, the mediocre reviewer