we often cast the lunartide your nude
to lure what primal scream writhes sternum-driven
from beneath-
serrated teeth occlude
each femur rend your sinews hewn like riven
timber-
swimmer don’t you know by now
what swells below-
the undertow-
you’ve breached
this self-
same sheen and swum at least a thou-
sand times at our command-
they found your beached
remains tomorrow every time-
and yet
not once do you prevent the reel its draw
and stay-
the spinal surging and descent
of mythic megalodon’s seining maw
eternally denied deliverance
your thrash becomes relent-
less present-
tense.