“Some beauty is only there to keep you from noticing you’re still sinking.”
— Marginalia, Unsent Rescue Logs
You glitter in the sun —
coiled and patient,
smelling faintly of salt,
and afternoons too perfect to trust.
I hold you like a promise,
though we both know
you were never meant to lift me.
You are gold where there should be grit,
diamonds where there should be knots —
more jewellery than lifeline.
And yet,
I reach for you anyway —
every time.
Because you’re beautiful.
Because you feel like hope —
even as you wait to watch me fall.
Recovered from shoreline storage; no date recorded.