birth of venus

“Holy Mary, pray for me.”

Lashing grit and gray weeds caught in his trousers as he thrashed and grappled with the wet.

“Saint Joseph, pray for me.”

He threw his arms and pumped his legs, screaming bubbles as the day fell up.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me…”

His shriveled heart quivered; there was no more air for the stagnant blue blood cells.

“…in my last….”

The pale coral dangled lifeless from his fingers—

“…agondemyx.”

—the coat wasn’t warm and Saïx took his icon; snapping off the beads and offering it all right back into the ocean.