22 June 2025

By Philip Kuepper

I retreat to the sea.
I feel more centered
at sea, than on land.
I don’t swim with the illusion
of safety the land is selling.
However solid its material,
it can erupt without warning.
The land is a minefield
of moods. At sea, moods
are rarely hidden.
Fissures, sinkholes, quakes,
volcanoes suddenly, blowing their stacks,
after the land has lulled
one into complacency? No.
But, at sea, one is alert,
vigilant. The sea’s moods
are in one’s face.
I know where I stand with the sea.
With the land? No.
The material world is often made up of
surprises, fatal.
I can’t see the land coming at me.
The sea? That’s all I see.
The sea is always
coming head-on at me.

(20 May 2025)