When Authorities say “Be Aware of Your Surroundings”

say i’m at home
catnapping
no, i meant jogging
past the park
or i’m pulled over
meet you at a bar
called shorebreaks
can cause serious neck, back
and head injuries
even in shallow waters
even between relationships
between floors
on an elevator with no
service i mean rip currents
can be swept out to sea
or yanked from atm
swim parallel to shore
turn around—
avoid contact with sharp coral
cross street to avoid
a handful of guys
or just one
because ocean
because hazards
can occur even when waters
appear calm

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Shareen K. Murayama is a Japanese-American, Okinawan-American poet and educator. She’s a 2021 Best Microfiction winner as well as a poetry reader for The Adroit Journal. She promotes students' voices through a poetry club called the Po' Heads, spends her days as a surfing poet, and her evenings with her dog named Squid. Her art is published or forthcoming in Pilgrimage Press, The Margins, MORIA, Juked, Bamboo Ridge, Puerto del Sol, and elsewhere. You can find her on IG & Twitter @ambusypoeming.