As I Enter the Sea Before Me

As I enter the sea before me,
Waves wash over sand.
Footsteps splash in the shallows,
With every step I leave this land.

 As I enter the sea before me,
My Mario Kart ghost runs ahead.
His belly-slap dive like in Baywatch,
Duck-diving every wave that aims for land.

As I wade into the sea before me,
The others splash and play.
My hairy shins push forward,
With every stride I leave this land.

As I enter the sea before me,
The crabs scuttle away.
For they can sense my hunger, and
Step sideways toward land.

As I enter the sea before me,
Sand eels approach with care.
Their relatives remember
Me swimming be–goggled underwater,
Herding them like sheep on land.

As I enter the see before me,
You may not recognise I when I emerge.
As I enter the sea before me,
With every stride I leave this land.

Poem copyright Joe Russell 2013, Photo copyright Joe Russell 2016

Poem from collection A Brief Flash of Nature, available to buy on Kindle