Hinterland

A poem

Photo by Adrien King on Unsplash

Shipwrecked, she lies broken on the sand

while waves wash her feet.

Seagulls hop closer,

inspect her with curious pecks.

She has shells stuck to her face

seaweed entwined in her hair

and the whole thing is —

she’s still alive.

Her fingers tremble

and she tests her breath,

sensing it will not falter now.

Soon she will rise carefully,

find her new feet

and glance once towards the sea,

where he had insisted on

command of the wheel,

before braving her interior.

Photo by Derek Thomson on Unsplash