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[ema]

when you're at sea, please be careful
of the storms and the sharks
and the whales and the dark
watch out for wrecks
swab the decks
steady to starboard & hard to port
while a hand made of water
picks you up & puts you down again
when you're at sea, with your hand on the wheel
keep it under control
looking through your port hole
at a giant turtle
on the back of another
it's the ocean's grand mother
on the back of the third
with the head of a bird
& this tower of turtles
is eternal, immortal
right outside of your port hole
& the ocean so deep gently rocks you to sleep
when you're at sea, tucked into your bunk bed
put a shell to your ear
& the sound that you hear
is all the thoughts in your head
upside down and blackwards
so it turns into one word
when you're at sea, all alone in your cabin
watching the waves blow & reading a book
sing a sea song, write some lines on your log
patch all the cracks, check all the mars
& the north star will stay
just as far, far away
& a hand made of water picks you up& puts you down again
& the ocean so deep gently rocks you to sleep
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