Flamingos, 15X22, watercolor, Gary Buhler
TO THE BOTTOM
underwater.
we breathed salt and stillness,
sharks and stingrays –
drowned?
corroded, sure,
all tattered flags,
busted wood,
empty dining rooms,
abandoned bunks –
we were kings
crowned by the roar
of waves overhead –
undertow didn’t bother –
laws suspended
we flourished, flowered –
in darkness,
coral and anemone,
deep engulfing sands
until the last plank breaks free,
kings of the fleet
where bigger ships than we
have sunk
_____________
John Grey