the sky is blue

how many people
have told you why the
sky is blue?
it's the ocean 
of course-- her
mirror hanging above
us--she touches 
her face-- 
concealer
& blush &
black winged eye-liner
flying south for
the winter--  
gossip of the geese--
at night-- covering
her face with 
a black veil-- she sobs--
eye-liner down
her cheeks
she breaks at the sand
bar & weeps
i'm ugly 
i'm ugly 
i'm ugly 
& i perch-- 
bare feet-- wet
sand & i tell
her that at night
no one really
has a face-- 
i show her mine--
blank in the rays
off the moon--
ocean spray 
caress--
thumbs across 
my cheeks--
she says  
God was cruel to 
give us reflections
& i try to see
myself in her water--
kelp-- shattered shells--
ripple on ripple--
she is making
the sky too dark--
i'm relieved to
not have a mirror--
they're so easy to
trip into--
i see the one in my
bathroom-- fingers
on glass-- glass
becoming water--
the mirror who 
makes a face
for you to wear--
i wade in-- 
cold in her teeth--
she refuses to smile
& the moon
watches her figure
frolicking through
waves-- the moon
slips & drops her
reflection
underwater--
plummeting-- glowing
beneath the ocean's
skin
she asks
if everyone is beautiful
in the morning
& i tell her
that the tide is coming in--
up to my waist--
i tell her that
the sky is blue
because of her & 
she blushes until
the dolphins bring
back the moon's reflection
& the sun
mirror laughs herself
above us--
beaming
up at herself
the ocean remembers
the sky blue &
i remember my
freckles in the bathroom
mirror-- 
she remembers loud
enough to cox out the clouds--
she whispers
blue is the first
name i was given--
the first sound i
made when i gazed up
to see myself--
i follow the shoreline--
collecting shells
in my pockets as a way
to prove i remembered
you while i was walking--
what is love
but the act of
persistent memory--
of searching for
a blue sky to
wash your faces in--
i trace the horizon 
to the point 
where heaven & the ocean
touch-- their fingers 
intertwined--
mouth on glass--
what do we make of
the sunset then?
you're beautiful
you're beautiful
don't bother 
with mirrors
i whisper
into a swell--
she blushes golden--
purple-red-indigo--
yes please tell
me why 
the sky is blue--
she's open 
to suggestions