Surrendered
In the middle –
steady, harsh waves,
salty flavoured ocean,
stranded, treading.
Love comes smiling.
It is a ghost.
Joy comes and passes by.
Purpose comes but floats by
like a jellyfish riding the momentum.
In the middle, tired of treading,
no escape, just the ebb and flow, surging,
retreating waters. What lies beneath makes
no difference because nothing is above
except the burning brutal sun, cloud cover
occasionally, and only air to eat.
Skin cells, bloating. Eyes, unable to keep
open. In the middle
of an endless abyss, all my happy days
behind me.
I hold my hands in prayer position,
arms raised over my head.
I stop struggling to not go under.
I go under and let that weight, the peace
at last, take me down.
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Copyright © by Allison Grayhurst 2025
amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst
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First published in “Synchronized Chaos” February 2026
https://synchchaos.com/synchronized-chaos-first-february-issue-tba/
https://synchchaos.com/poetry-from-allison-grayhurst-17/
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You can listen to the poem below: