Empty.
Bleary mind, eyes clouded by the nothingness in sight.
Am I embodied? My body tenses up, chest back neck all wire tight
Frightened of the void, no noise to keep my mind avoidant.
Just me and the beast,
Just me and a feast of self soul to devour,
It encompasses, surrounds me with a glowering, menacing power.
Not one hour.
Not one single hour of the quarter million I’ve been gifted,
Have I gifted back in quiet emptiness, still and sober
Always full: dreaming, scheming, seeming to function,
But skipping over the surface of life like a cast stone,
Bouncing off the skin,
Momentum = tension on that line atom-thin.
I roam, never sinking in, scared of the depths below
A lingering fear to wallow or swim,
‘The Unknown’ a haunted house for fools,
Does our safety really pivot on memorising all the rules?
Just stop.
If you dare, stop and sink in to life’s water
Don’t run and run in fear of being hung, drawn and quartered
Parts of you may be slaughtered, drowned in the quiet deep
Parts you don’t need, parasites that keep you half asleep
That walk you through monotony and whisper “It’s all you deserve”
That make you froth and rage, whine and pine, a picture quite absurd
Let them drown, let them float off like bloated ticks and lice
And find new aquatic elements, to which your mind can splice.
Compassion, connection, flexibility and flow
Let the water wash your soul, and show you where to go.
.
Anonymous Submission, May 2022