Safe Harbor
Thomas Mixon
even fathom what fraught oceans
lapped the counter, lapped the stairs
I never thought as easy inlets
to death, till you were born.
I was braver before. I swam
whatever hours made no perfect
sense, and saw the moon dive
out of focus, while I freed
the compounds deemed no longer
needed by my body, in a stream
above my head I couldn’t see.
These are feats I cannot say
anything to you about. The night,
the unlocked door, latent water-
borne diseases carry depths
I will not let you wade
toward or even dream of.
The dehumidifier in the dark
almost wakes you. But I won’t
take any chances. I couldn’t
Thomas Mixon was a featured writer at Mass Poetry's U35 reading series in Boston. His work has appeared in MockingHeart Review, Breadcrumbs, Plainsongs, and elsewhere.