After Mai Der Vang

Say the ocean holds every secret
In the world, like where I’m from.

Say the tides reveal my insides,
Kelp and seaglass strewn on the wrack line.

My bones carve cartographies into the sand and
The beach tries to heal, smooths over, swallowing my maps.

Say the waves sweep me under, weightless,
Waiting for my skin to sprout scales.

Say the crab is the most perfect lifeform.
Say no sound travels

But the jealous murmuring of fish.
I surface. I've learned to breathe through salt.

Say the shore I reach is as foreign as the one I left.
Say my feet remember they used to be fins.