Child asks the Sea for hope

Collage by Iman.

Child asks:  Sea, does the shore I was born on love me?

Sea remains calm, says: They will, child.
They will always welcome you but as long as
you clear the footprints you leave behind, for they
want to keep their sands smooth, ready to hold
perfect child that will never be–nay, it is not you,
who is a pearl, accidentally formed by me. The shore
knows Pearls always leave her for another shore.

Child asks again: Sea, will the shore I didn't know
I left behind, take me back?

Sea remains calm and says: They will, Child.
They will welcome her long lost children
but you cannot speak to them with your mouth,
mangled by broken shells at the shore of your birth.
It will hurt when they do not understand you,
who is a broken mirror of the child they lost.
In me, are the tears of too many children who went back
And learned that shores too can feel betrayal.

Child begs one last time: Sea, will these shores
love me for who I am? Will it let me love them?

Sea is quiet. The world is still around her.
Then she cries a tempest into the sky: Oh Child,
no silver linings are visible from these shores.
Pearls begin as sand grains from shores
and I do not know which shore you came from
but they are made by me,
and they are made lonely.

Child sinks in the Sea’s arms,
a lost pearl in waves that never
finds a place at the shores. ◆

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Aathma is a Writer, Poet, a Malayali from Abu Dhabi and a recent graduate from NYU Abu Dhabi with a B.A in Literature and Creative Writing. Her work as of now deals with South Asian-Gulf migration narratives with a focus on womanhood and memory. She has been published in The Gazelle, Glass Poetry, Postscript and Quissa Magazine. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.