My peace, my love, my joy.

Soon
the sea
will take it all
And I
shall not
be sad.

Sitting in the boxy
hotel balcony
on the 7th floor,
overlooking the ocean.

I watch as the tide creeps in. 
Wave after wave,
inching closer and closer to the mural I sketched with my sole,
digging in deep just before the stars went out,
just before the sun came up,
just before the fishermen began to line the shore.

A sign of peace,
           a sign of love,
                      a sign of joy.

Soon it will be swept out to the sea,
and I will not be sad to see it go.

Even as the seed of it blossomed in my brain 
I knew it wouldn’t last.
How could I deny the roaring of the ocean?
As I stepped away to survey the scene;
my peace, my love, my joy;
I saw the spectators seated in their own balcony boxes,
Heard their whistles and applause,
I looked up at them, their smiling faces, and I waved with both hands, beaming.
Every single thing about that moment was sweetness.

So now I sit in this box and I breathe.
I rest calmly in the knowledge that everything is impermanent,
understanding that ultimately
all of my energy and all of my effort
will be stolen,
softly,
slowly,
by the ocean.

My peace, my love, my joy.
It will mingle with the salt and with the sea and become a part of everything. 

My peace, my love, my joy.
It will all be swept into the sea.
And I shall not be sad to see it so.