You have only a few weeks to live

In a blink of an eye you feel
your soul sink, stranded
by the ebbing tide,
when you hear the voice on the phone.

At other times you would not have lacked
words, even cracked a joke.
Now you crumple from inside,
crumbling as a sand castle.

When a soul sinks, does it lose itself
drowning in debris?
Voices drop warnings that time ends
in a mist, day turns into night
(the sun fades, when you lose control)
and your chest tightens.

You expect an explanation.
A flashback: a looming separation,
failed success, despair –
How breakage led to fear – a cancer
beached in the blackness,
but instead you say: Thank you
to your surgeon,
don’t let cracks appear.

You stay clear
of the tunnel with a bright light
and your ancestors waving you into their world.
Still ready to stand your ground, you’ll fight
sea creatures with webbed feet and
ductless eyes,
before the open sea turns back the tide.