Sand caresses my heels,
rushes through my toes,
surrounds my ankles.
As I reach the water, the ocean
encases my feet, searches for
silver scales, fins, bulging eyes.
Although I am a finless creature,
without lateral lines to navigate
currents, the sea accepts me
into its blue universe, where it will
slowly devour me, for it is, as I am,
a thing that devours. Unlike the ocean
that moderates weather patterns,
absorbs carbon dioxide, supports
biodiversity and coastal ecosystems,
I am mostly a nematode-like
creature, burrowing into
the earth’s breath, tipping its axis.
—
Rosemary Ybarra-Garcia is the author of four books of poetry, most recently Poems From My Painted Porch: Living in Accordance With Nature. Her poetry has been featured in Lighthouse Point: An Anthology of Santa Cruz Writers, New to North America: Writing by Immigrants, Their Children and Grandchildren, California Quarterly, Poetry Quarterly, Calyx, and River Poets Journal. An educator and a life-long poet, she holds graduate degrees in education, English, and Creative Writing from U.C.Davis and San Francisco State University. Prior to her retirement, Rosemary was employed by the California Community Colleges and U. C. Davis, where she held positions of lecturer, instructor, dean, and vice president. She dedicated her career to helping students achieve their educational goals and thus improve their lives.
