A gentle chime rings as the chain from the lamp
Slips through my fingers and strikes the glass
The pale afterglow burns a flutter that blinds as
I grumble at the traffic noise
    mumble at the barking dog
    fumble to the usual spot on the bed
Adjusting to the dark

Light pours in
From street lights
    From headlights
    From police lights
    From the full moon
In otherness there is no dark
On my island, the glow
Spreads like a mist to where waves
Lick at the sand and round
Jagged corners of the shoreline

As I stretch my limbs
  Reaching for the shores
The thrumming water attunes to the city hum
And the moist sand becomes my bed
Above me, the stars take their fixed place
Calling to me from the infinite
Calling me to the water

Standing at the shore-break as
The moon beckons us
To swim in that cold, dark water
    In the waves
Don’t wait for the warm daytime,
Fight against the currents that drag you, 
Ignore the coral and creatures
Feel the saltiness
    The rush, the weightless-ness

Songs echo from the depths, 
    Is that mother calling?
Almost against my will
I dive into the chill
Air is driven from my lungs
Floating suspended for a moment before
I claw and crawl through the whooshing
        Almost washing away my otherness
Finally breaking the surface to find
There is no water, no island
Just the traffic
    The dogs
    The sirens
And dreams of swimming