Beneath The Waters Deep

by Judith Michaels Safford

How do I close a door that has never opened,

one long ago rusted shut like a sunken ship

beneath the waters deep that never got to sail her treasure?

Beneath the waters deep that never had a chance to sail her treasure.

How do I open a door that never was

except on a romance screen

in a teenage dream?

Beneath the waters deep.

Give in or reject

the only power tool

for women of my generation.

And yet,

cruel consequences whittled even this tool

to a sliver.

Whittled to a sliver – worthless as

a rusted sunken ship.

A wide-eyed sitting duckling

for the Bible’s female submission tale,

swallowing the apple of the fall,

ingesting Eve’s recorded fail.

Never got to sail

her treasure.

I know how to flirt, seduce, disassociate,

exhaust the body’s tension and

how to pretend.

Beneath the waters deep.

Connecting intentionally and

authentic loving requires no

genitals, drugs or alcohol.

This fractured heart

saturated, tenderized, vulnerable

wills to opens its door

to intimacy

of a resurrected treasure

and the beauty of a deeper truth

the sheen of a sunken precious jewel

beneath the waters deep.

* * * * *

In 2006, Judith Michaels Safford discovered a radio program on writing poetry. She followed the prompts and mustered up the courage to press the send button. She was invited to read and a door was open that had not previously existed. She finds that her emotions express more easily through poetry. Judith self-published her memoir in 2009. Don’t Sell Your Soul, Memoir of a Guru Junkie. Encouraged by a published poet-friend, she embarked on self-publishing a book of prayer poems. Joyful Surrender, A pilgrimage. Judith continues to practice a 23-year career as a licensed massage therapist. Today her home is Glenwood, New Mexico, where artists of many kind reside. Touching others with hands and poems brings a tremendous satisfaction of purpose to her life.