I had my luck
To pass through rivers
And light dancing streams
And arrive at the ocean.
Where the bright noon-sun gleams.
If I keep walking I might find what I seek.
On the sea bottom
My youth at its peak.
From my lips
Every bubble
a memory, where do they end?
The bubbles go up and get bigger. I get smaller and only descend.
On the sea floor all is quiet and still.
I find the boat I named luck
I had indeed,
It seemed to stick
I took it's lead..
In this pressure of darkness I see the wisdom that I have gained.
And enter the wreckage of my youths only remains.
A golden phallus on an alter
Around which young mermaids do weep.
They don't recognize me as I go to sleep.
I had my luck
And broke it strong.
There's no way back
My compass was wrong.
And now I lay tangled with my youth
In wreaths of seaweed we no longer fight.
And sail through the oceans
And love deeply the world far from wind and sunlight.
Elias Merhige and myself
'Like the alchemists of old, the poet uses
language to find the immortality of what is best
and most precious from this fleeting life.'
Elias Merhige