the marriage

i see you in the water,
arm over arm, kicking
your legs, breathing
when you can, snatching
air as you turn your
head out of the breaking
blue, and i ask you
what you are doing, why
are you swimming like
this. where are you
going. i row beside you,
steady in the ocean
froth, but you don't
answer, you are busy
as the waves chop against
your wet hair, your sun
burned brow. your green
eyes are glazed over
with salt and fatique.
you are persistent and
try to ignore me and my
pleas to stop and get in.
you just want to get
to the other side though,
beyond me, me in my
safe boat with a life
preserver and fresh water,
food, and a map of what
we thought our lives
would look like, where
they would lead when
we were on dry land
so long ago.