Dear Submarines,
From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Crawlers In the Aphotic Plateau
I knew one thing was real:
I fell in love with you.
A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.
As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Swimming out of one.
And so I ran.
I ran up and down every station
After every loose fuel rod for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.
I swam through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.
You gave a six-year-old boy his Europan dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.
This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.
And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have.
And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Crawler outside the window
:05 seconds till the breach
With a periscope to my face
5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1..
