The Reef


The lifespan of coral is oddly like love

Beautiful, exciting, mortal


both are visible dead and dying on beaches in Hawaii,

exhausted couples lay along beaches,

Sunscreen lathered skin embodying extinguished coral


Life and love extinguished in the same character

Wilting, suffocating, but not unknown to anyone


We watch coral die, share a post,

But do nothing more


Those in love watch their love die,

Although it’s frequently only one flame that dies,

The other one lives, struggling to burn alone,

Longing to be put out, in a dry forest