[Poetry] Two Poems by M. Ocampo McIvor

lost at sea

adrift

with no consolation

sunk cost

misspent energy

shunned

so close to shore

denied from mooring

i am nothing to no one—

empty vessel

numb oars

every shadow on the water—

fin or tree?

shapeshifting clouds

hide the oft-timid sun

and bear a constant drizzle

of unease and

m o c k e r y

Riding Waves

At dawn the waves batter the reef, crashing and churning— a tempest. At noon, rolling far from shore, the peaks and troughs flatten,

bored and ambivalent under an

uncaring sky. But soon enough the waves

crawl back to shore storming the rocks once more,

and once more

the churning tempest.

So it is, my appetite

for you.

M. Ocampo McIvor was born in the Philippines, raised in Toronto, Canada, and currently lives in Seattle. After a career in technology, Ocampo McIvor has returned to her roots to follow her calling in literature. Her work has been featured in The Bangalore Review, Burningword Literary, Rigorous, Spillwords, Streetcake Magazine, and others . She is the author of Ugly Things We Hide and Who Knows You Best.