Selkie

Selkie 

Captured on land
my skin stolen
I long to swim slick 
in the sea
heave onto sand
swelter in sun

But I’m stuck
in this human form
requiring swaths of cloth
walking on sticks 
with flat soles
speaking a complex
tongue with less feeling
than my chuffs and snorts

I will never stop searching

When I find my skin
slip back into my seal body
let me return to the surf
with these hands