ROGUE WAVE, Poetry by Joanne Van Leerdam

 Genre: Rhyme, Society

 
ROGUE WAVE

The surging wave builds and heaves,
Gathering its watery force,
And in that crucial moment, I believe
I can ride it all the way to shore
Just like I’ve done successfully
So many other times before.
Before I know it, I’m out of my depth
Chaos in blue and green and white,
Fighting for sunlight, for my next breath,
Turning to grey and black and fright,
Afraid of drowning, preparing for death,
Exhausted from trying to swim to the light.
Physical, spiritual underwater erosion
Sand in my eyes, my ears, my pants,
Churning debris mimics seething emotion;
At the height of the whirly-burly dance
The whirling dervish of the ocean
Chooses to give me another chance.
Raw and bleeding from abrasion,
Thrown aloft, then falling free,
In a final gesture of degradation,
Vomited unceremoniously,
Headfirst into humiliation
A piece of human ambergris.

2016 Joanne…