The Teeth Seas

There is a sea where the dead tides gather to hold each other close, to spend the small moments and share one another's solitude

The congregation of molars that call these waters home has long forgotten their hosts, their stillness only disturbed by the undulating waves

The countless bodies that tried to escape past the tides tell their stories too late, through the suspended jostling of their ivory whites

Take pity on their souls, for they have never seen the Sun, and have only known the grey skies that press down from above

These travelers who wade through the waters, having received the false hope of steady ground as they found their footing on the amassed teeth beneath the surface

Who realized too late the pretense of firmness as their feet slipped, sent frantically tumbling down the depths where not even the meager grey light could reach

And as their breath gives out and their visions blur, they reach out their hands toward the teeth that swerve in unison before them

A desire they did not know existed in the depths of their minds, which only bloomed into action as they realized their mortality through the bubbles of air escaping their mouths

Do not grimace at the sinking travelers, for it is of no fault of theirs that they venture out to the sea

As their curious hands plunge gently into the warm waters, did they not feel the comforting heat of a thousand relatives that walked the shore before them?

The ungenerous skies that gleam bleakly above, did they not fail to help their eyes firmly set the sea apart from the land?

Opposite to the seas the mountain sits - a permanent monolith that gazes indifferently on our days

No more constant than the speckled winds that blow down its rocky cliffs, carrying the black sands that pelt our skin day and night

And neither you nor I can see the true faces of each other, until we plunge into the waters to clear our faces of the grainy residue

How can you blame the travelers for seeking communion with the sanctuary, safe from the misrepresented confines of the surface above

Your brothers that ventured out to seek it, that suffered the same fate as the rest of them

Maybe in these last moments they saw beauty for the first time,

to see these jagged pearls dance about, glistening under the grey sun

the ivory remains of the countless souls once plagued with division and strife,

moving about in perfect harmony among the lonely tides

That they could only find peace amongst themselves after being claimed by the waters, to be gazed upon by the traveler with blighted wonder

And this story you have long told yourself, in the lonely nights as you caressed the empty sheets once held by the bodies of their former owners

But you have never stepped into the waters, never felt the teeth jostling about at your feet

You have never seen the decomposed fabrics of your ancestors that once wove their joints together, flying past the eyes of the sinking men

Is it an insurmountable request, to ask for your discernment within the stories of your mind

For I long to see the remorse crease your face one day, when you have wiped off the mountain sands from your eyes

Because that will be better than to watch you plunge into the teeth seas