I seek her out,
escaping to her often
whenever I am lost.
She has been a part of me forever,
seductress and deceiver,
so beautiful and dangerous,
remembered in my dreams
and bound to me
by chains as strong
as man has ever known.

I have journeyed her vastness,
been on her
and in her.
I have seen her in anger
and in calm.
I have seen the universe
reflected on her skin.
I have known her warm and welcoming
and cold enough to bite my flesh.

She has fed me
and starved me,
pulled me
and pushed me.
She is a mother
and a tyrant,
a lover,
and an executioner.
I have basked in her grace
and suffered her fury.
I embrace her
in fear and joy.