from Hubble:  Lagoon Nebula in the Sagittarius constellation.

There is the ocean of gratitude

because I awaken

because you are there

because there is a cat cuddled in

the crook of my elbow.

There is the ocean of sorrow

because she is gone

because I am lost

because this precious

day is waning.

There is the ocean of memory

filled with sensation

with laughter

with tenderness and cruelty

and a pinch of bitter and sweet.

There is the ocean

in which I place my body

the briney, waving, cold

that holds me, that

reminds me to swim.