my words

These are my words.
Each one I carefully collect,
Like shells from the ocean.
The waves of my introspection roll
Over each word,
Twisting and turning them into the shape
Of what I want to say.
Spread before me on the ocean floor,
I see all of the different edges
And textures and colors,
And the pictures they can make
When I put them together.
An ocean mosaic of words-
Tumbling sea glass heart.

These are my words.
And sometimes they are hard to find,
Like when the ocean is dark and muddy
And I'm not really sure
What I need to say.
I dip my hand into the water
And blindly search for the beauty
Trapped in the sand.
But I find the sea to be deeper
Than I had imagined-
The memories more powerful
Than the waves
That shape them into words.
And the ocean is silent.

These are my words.
And I would sing them for you
If I could.
When the sun sets over the ocean
In a brilliant display of light,
I would gather all the colors
In my hands
And paint you a picture.
But all I have are my words.
I paint with colors
That you do not understand.
Because you look at the world
Through dry eyes,
And I am underwater.

These are my words.
Incomplete,
Like shattered fragments of glass-
The water's smooth surface
Broken by waves.
And I hope that you will read them,
Not only scanning the surface
For your own reflection,
But turning the seashells over
In your hands
And trying to feel the bumps and ridges
The way I feel them.
Because these are my words,
Drawn from the ocean of my heart.


 *Update* 3/11/15: This poem won a Superior rating in the ACSI Creative Writing Festival!