***
swaying left and right,
left and right
left and right.
i am abed, stomach
shifting and churning.
against white sides they
beat and shift
making sleep fitful and
incomplete,
dreams ugly, vivid, and
stark–
until i remember
who owns the waters.
suddenly sheets are
swaddling clothes, bed is
bassinet, and waves naught but
mother’s arms, mother’s song.
i am soon
fast asleep.
***