diving for pearls

diving for pearls
you leap
off the edge
of the cliff
into clear
deep water
your body cuts
through the surface
as you hold air
tightly in your warm
lungs. the bottom
is full of oysters
scattered like stones
in the ancient sand.
each one holding
some form of hope.
it takes a day,
a week, a month,
sometimes even a
lifetime to find
just one.