time and tide in poetry

telling someone that they are terrible
will never motivate them to be better
people don’t work like that
sane people don’t, anyway
or even just half-crazy people
like us

you think us standing at a shore
lollygagging in still waters
soaking up the summer sun
and the briny cool
but the ocean’s so much deeper than you can see
and we’re kicking like hell beneath
heroically not-drowning
while you choose to believe
we’re just fucking around