been here before—
shoreline before me—
the cold-crystal ocean
oscillating in waves
rolling toward our doom.
another plume.
this is the trip—
it doesn’t go down
slow.
pentatonic—
scaled for dionysian eyes—
the blues bruise.
at the world’s edge
i am black and blue.
put on repeat,
an endless playlist.
yes, i’ve been here.
crystal shards abrade—
my feet, a salted rub,
a crimson wash,
rich in briny blood—
the pain is a reminder,
no one gets out of here
alive.
© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
First published on tristanrobertlange.com, April 21, 2026.
Tittu
-
Author:
Tristan Robert Lange (
Offline) - Published: April 21st, 2026 08:41
- Comment from author about the poem: Part of The Thinking Dark collection.
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 7
- Users favorite of this poem: Demar Desu - 德马尔·德苏, Friendship, Carlos Alberto BUSTILLOS, sorenbarrett
- In collections: The Thinking Dark.
Offline)
Comments3
We took a trip on an ocean - then heard a glug - it was Popeye the sailor man of course! lol.
A strong, powerful poem of life. Your poem revolves around the need to confront and articulate the complexities of human existence, pain, and the inevitability of death.
In this life of ocean waters we often cut our feet on coral and rock and adrift out of sight of land pulled by currents with no direction to swim we know that we can only swim so long and no one gets out alive.
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