What arrives on a shell
of new blown shit, piss,
pain and blood, is the
treasure men seek, in deep-buried
chests told in tales of pirates
ruthless and brave, ferocious,
on a sea that makes no allies.

The eye drowns in saltwater,
the breeching of the ocean terrifies—
a father is carried away by a tide
that consumes so completely
he cannot measure its depths.

That is why a father cannot resist
the sloppiest tear jerkin’ hollywood hurter,
because now he will believe any myth;
some things are eternal,
some stories are told,
again, and again.

All things pass but this:
all things must be destroyed,
endless dust be unbroken,
rivers come to an end,
deserts surround the sea;
a father cries because he sees these things
and knows the promise is made to be kept—
he must smile, and keep to himself the tears;
these are only stories he was told.

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