My Girl Swims In the Ocean

My girl, the one with the mermaid eyes and hair of sunshine,
Swims in the ocean while I shift sand on the beach
Watching carefully and wondering about the pull to water
That isn’t mine but only hers.
This foreigner who spent a short lifetime within and without me.
I am her witness. Her steady wind. Her fragrant reminder of home.
She is swimming far and deep while I watch and hold
Our collective breath and congratulate her bold becoming
As she faces each wave with willingness to then disappear
Over and over again. Matching the perpetual
Timing that doesn’t start or stop.
While I rattle small shell pieces and smooth white rocks,
casting a prayer like a net to keep her safe
And free. As only a mother can do. From an afar shore.
Reluctantly, I close my eyes and wait. Entering faith with an abandon
I barely trust. Only then does she emerge cold and satisfied.
Suddenly standing on the bare sand beside me.
Smiling as if my heart did not just drown with the
Rescue of our shared primal love.