this is not an ocean

this is not an ocean
washing onto the concrete beach
though the winds blow with the texture
of air above the sea

no, this is not an ocean, i decide
almost on the daily
sniffing at the vacant smell of freshwater
ever unsatisfied

but i try to appreciate this neighborly lake
so different from the ocean that raised me,
where hidden by mountains and haunted by fog
water only ever glimmers, just out of sight