lost at sea
without words
only wave after wave
like blank lines
i can only name the color: gray

somewhere the wind is sweeping
long strands of hair across my face

 tell me

there is nothing to tell you

if i lie still enough i think i can keep
my balance a little longer
how many people have told me,
i always thought by now i'd be dead
it turns out it takes more than that

no answers
for people i used to know
on the behalf of ghosts
ghosts have their own answers
i have silence
and sometimes
a sentence or two that comes from nowhere
like these:

Watch the horizon
and don't grip too hard
to the wet wood; salt and slime
under your fingers
will betray you. Trying to survive
is dangerous