I have wrestled again
once more to a draw
with leaden cravings
I do not even try to swim to the surface
but grab at them and gasp for air. There
is no surface of which I am aware.
Why do you hold me down? I scream
at them and her, all the while clinging
on as if there was dear life.
And then I see the surface of the water
and am shocked that it exists.
And I find that I can float after all.
Still I swim, sinking now and then
but continually coming up for air.
This sweet air of awareness
is blessed by the water of life.
What can we do but swim?
There is no escape from the water
just the sleeping and then diving back in.
The floating is marvelous. The water surrounds all of us.
We are connected by it, made of it and in it,
and we return to it at the end. This floating
is dear life – swimming with all beings.
Come,
and swim.
thespacebetweenbreaths 