In the distance, a baby cries,

the screams drifting through the August air

and I think of the sea;

I vanish to the shore, away

from everyday pain, drowning

the aches in the thunder of the waves;

pearly-white manes galloping

up and onto the sand.

My feet sink deeper

pushing aside beads of orange glass

softened by the tide;

I vanish into myself

eyes closed, turned toward the coastal breeze,

salty air nipping my cheeks and lips –

I run my tongue along them

to taste the ocean,

the blood rushing in my ears

mimicking the summer swells

in the deep blue distance;

and across this bridge in my mind

I can no longer hear the baby’s cries.

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Kristiana Reed is a writer and an English Teacher living in the UK. She is the creator of My Screaming Twenties and sole editor of Free Verse Revolution on WordPress. She  released…