'Waiting'
Poetry
by Ulrika Duran
Waiting
I am half a mile out to sea, waiting.
The sea is shallow flat, less than a foot deep,
the red sun casually lowering.
A set arrives over the reef, breaking,
her salty lips fold over like a sheet.
The head-high barrel wave is waiting
for me to air-drop into standing.
I see rainbow seaweed underneath,
through the tunnel, the is sun lowering.
I feel the compression of the wave collapsing,
through the almond-shaped space my eye meets
a blue fin tuna skipping, as if waiting
for me. Like a bullet I am catapulting,
behind me salt crystallising to gunpowder sleet
out of the barrel, like shrapnel spray following, lowering
the wave fires me out, and I am surfing.
About the Author
Ulrike has been writing ever since she can remember, mainly to make sense of the world. She loves variety in both writing and life, and is currently living on the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall. She grew up moving between countries and learning languages, finding solace in a wide range of literature. Most of her adult life she has worked as a teacher, sharing her love for words. She completed a MA in Creative Writing from Southampton University with distinction. Since then, her short play Draco and Juno was performed at the Berry Theatre. Her short stories are published in anthologies and magazines, including Cornwall Writers and The London Reader. Her poetry has appeared in Mordardh, a collaborative surf poetry anthology based in Cornwall. Her favourite tree is the Monkey Puzzle, and she loves swimming in the sea. Find her on Facebook.