I See You

Like the salt in the ocean you can’t see until it’s dry,
you are the rock that keeps us all together;
the command with which you roam this earth makes me afraid,
afraid not of getting in your way but helping you on your own.

I see you but you don’t want me to.
Like the bright sun hiding under a still lake,
the hand you hold out behind me is clearer than ever —
you are scared but I can never know.
The thought of salt staining your shirt would reveal too much:
the rock would weather.

I see you barring your path,
keeping us away;
getting too close
would only hurt
more.

I see you from afar
but unlike the skipping rock on a protected reservoir,
the generations of waves between us
will cease to end —

I could not hold you like I wished
yet I'll never let go of the hand you held out for me.