Loneliness is a resounding feeling, and sometimes, imagining yourself being engulfed by the ocean waves seems far more appealing than dealing with reality. Being consumed by the most powerful force of nature can actually seem peaceful compared to other things we might have to face in our lives. In this, there lies astounding complexity and an eerie, yet fascinating beauty.
The glimmering mist gently coats my skin, Sweet glory of soft sand unites underneath my toes, Above me a strange, yet fulfilling murmuring, churns inside my soul The eyes of those sea gulls quietly criticizing my desire to stand firmly on this ground, Peeved by the nuisance they anticipate might turn to destroy their peace, Marveling at the connection I withhold, With the tumultuous flow of drifting wood on a barren, yet magnificent stretch of quivering blue, Gale rising and drifting above me as my arms, outstretched, let the wind hit me, My lashes are lined with the soft dust of the dunes I’m surrounded by, The wetness seeps into my clothes until I’m soaked to the bone, Shivering slightly, but persistent enough to go on, The beast I face is double sided, encompassing one’s greatest imagination and also their worst nightmares, Before I let it engulf me completely, I take in the warmth of a now rising flame, that spreads its orange tendrils passionately over the horizon, With every step closer, I let my eyes lower, as the soft glow lights my heart entirely on fire, And those seagulls, now with a heightened sensation of doom, a crippling understanding of hopelessness, Begin their music once again, This time it’s shrill, and jostles the thoughts inside my head, Yet as I approach my dreary fate, the only thing I feel is calmness, a deep, resounding peace, and a oneness with my environment, And as my toes, once covered in a brown sugar like consistency, Slowly find the waves, I start to wade in faster, as my body begins to cave, The second I find the riptide, I feel a small glimmer of eternal happiness, It is a beautiful thing for the greatest force in the universe, To finally consume you completely, as you bask in its fatal magnificence. -Trisha Beher