i am the summer of kina spines i caught. when i was a clumsy accordion tongue. fast talking down loose lipped pebbled beach steps. bodyboard under arm. me and my salt seasoned sibs. dreaming out loud about the day. tuck shop pixie caramel remnants gooey. between my only two adult teeth. vortex mega howling a swell to shore. escaped white wash crushed rock pools. a coral christened shell to ear. calling home. ran til pipi’s took shape in my feet. shucked them open on rose thorns. jailbreaking starlight. all clocks set to four zeros.

freedom is time.

stamped and sick days took. escape white wash. crushed blue pills. i am lines divvied on alien furnished glass. telescopic nostrils lost in deep space. sleep walk to the next day. til it’s my birthday. bake my own cake and blow. a week of pay on a thursday. and what would you say to me now? to find my hair has always been yours. ginger highlights through my beard. did you see where i’ve been? to find the life we missed together. winding through the great ocean road. i fall in love beside the remnants of 12 apostles. and would you be proud? to find what parts of you make up my heart. i take a hit. green algae grows envious legs. i hold it in my stomach.

freedom is breath.

a mouthful of air before i sink. fresh chest surfaces with the sun. wrists adorned in seaweed jewels. coral glistened shells rosary my neck. how long has it been, old friend? since i was mostly baby teeth. time is a slipstream. coasting my back. counting my breaths. historically on the precipice. a highway of crumbled limestone. a crown polished by thieves. a stray asteroid. a new year explosion. a red taped ocean. a child swallowing a brined urchin centre heading toward the shallows.