They Are Most at Home
They are most at home in the sea,
the way their bodies embody water,
whether or not they can swim
with ease, which they can’t,
but like water, their bodies flow
and purl and bend in such a way
you want to swim in them and fish
for marlin and cast your nets and dive
for oysters and study their currents
and surf their they waves and taste their salt.
Each garment they wear is a bathing suit.
They are the genius of water that stains
the water with the blood of men
who sought the land and forced
them to follow. They are the body
of water from which a body comes.