Behold, Atlas

Rippling strands of wheat
undulating gold, forming currents
of concerted strength.
Muscles tensing and releasing,
explosion and flow incarnate.
Ascending, with joints straining
and bristling, the weight, the world,
lurching heavenward and peaking.
Resolute he stands, holding a mere grain
in the midst of the ocean.

Anatomy of a Wave

cutting through glass and slicing through liquid,
it pushes back and bobs, choppy as asphalt potholes,
silky as lonely bedsheets,
when everything comes crashing down,
the floor curls and throws you beneath itself
drowning, breathless, loveless you try to gain your bearing,
pushing to find the surface, hope abides in each stroke,
and disappointment in each step, so you open your eyes.
Feel the stinging truth, blind as the day you were born,
but somehow there is light, color, meaning in struggle,
so you follow your face, whatever way it is turned
gasp choke cramp air explodes into your mind,
the ominous sky appears, but futures are never assured,
only desired.