Like a Turtle Finding The Ocean

I flew on a magic carpet

with sparkling tassels

I ran my fingers through them

and believed my future was made of moonlight

I thought myself finding success would emulate a baby turtle finding the ocean

So vast, that even if I crawled diagonally,

as long as I kept moving forward, I'd make it eventually

but eventually is longer than I expected

and responsibility cracks like a desert underneath me

Bright lights are overwhelming

and I'm afraid I'm moving in the wrong direction

The floating carpet on which I once felt so mighty

is now sand covered and thin, and barely keeps me warm at night

I cry in the dark

and I wish I would have paid more attention to driftwood,

when it washed up next to me

Perhaps, I could have used it to make a home

but I let it drift away, so sure I didn't need it

Now I'm on an empty beach and I've never felt so alone

I hear distant laughter in the water

while I'm frozen on the sand

talking to hollow shells

spiraling

over cigarettes

and french fries

under metal detectors that look like UFO's

I miss what I thought was a solid foundation of wind that carried me here

and I'm tempted to let it carry me far away if it returns

but in the air, I would still feel broken and have all the same problems and fears

I'd still long for the ocean

and yearn to sink into wet sand, like birthday candles in a cake

and believe in myself once again

this time with the deepest sincerity and understanding

that it takes time

to find the ocean.