Poem: Buoyancy by Mark Tulin

Many thanks to the wonderful site Amethyst Review for first publishing this poem. Featured image by Mark Tulin.

Buoyancy – a poem by Mark Tulin


I savior my inhales
and exhales
when I swim through
the dark blue

I want to remember
how it feels,
to slow down
my breath,
ease my strokes
and flutter my feet
like a boat’s
propeller

I notice each dolphin
that giggles, each colony
of seals,
and imagine what it’s like
to be a seagull
who hovers above me
as if I fly
across the briny sea
of sacred swells

I count my blessings,
the number of buoys,
noticing how far I venture,
or if my mind
is capable
or if I have the strength

I caress the water,
take it into my heart
I feel its soul
move through my lungs,
and its spirit
upon which I float.