Trapped in a bubble, I’ve been treading the sea surface
since I was yolk pushing my egg to roll on foam
Endless waters clear as glass reflect stars and moonlight
the same silver lights I saw when infantile I floated from liquid abyss
Since then, alone I measure time
using my growing hurt of loneliness

I’ve witnessed many emerge like me,
cradled in bubbles of their own
Others approached me from the horizon,
among them my mentor, whose back was crooked
from growing old within a shell
Amalgamation of oyster, clam, and mussel, with tiny windows,
to glimpse his hunched, beard-covered form

I once asked him how his bubble got this heavy
Burdens others placed on me to share their weight before we joined
but those partners left me, their bubbles lighter for it
their burdens growing on my own

Barnacles grew and covered his windows,
leaving a ball of shells and his sea-muffled voice
Weaker, fainter with the passing of time
finally silent, a mute shell-hardened ball kept me company

Until it stopped rolling, slowly swallowed by the waves

In my mind, his voice still accompanies me:
  Life is as short as you make it
Your muscle to push strong as your will
Keep your bubble floating to find a decent partner
Then in one bubble you’ll push as two

I passed by creatures like me pushing their bubbles
but they ditched algae and kelp to weigh my own
And once I met a creature, hairless and pale,
that hated its bubble, its pink fluorescence, its smooth shape
Who asked me: can I carry some of your algae

We slid the waves as partners,
our growing love a crude clock to measure time

My kelpy weight taken bit by bit,
with my relief the creature’s bubble grew heavy
but wanted more even if devoured

I said, have it all, let us be joined
In one large bubble, we’ll reach the shore