I stood by huan waters,
Waiting for their ocean
To wash my life ashore.
The only memento
The tide left me
Was a conch shell.
I couldn’t wait
To put my ear
to its internal sea.
I was sure I’d hear
Sounds of myself
Counterpointng immortality,
But all that came out
Was a dead man’s drone—
The ground bass
Every eternal being
Learns by heart.
