"Floating"

If dreams were water...

Being in love should be like floating,

There should be enough salt in the heart.

On the first day of my swimming lesson,

The instructor asked us to battle the waters

Using our feet,

Holding on to an arbitrary rod,

Life is somewhat like that.

But I grew tired,

And floated aimlessly around the pool,

My hands made into an arrow

Like I had seen on television.

But how far can you float in love?

The depths of water

Release eddies of doubts and indifference,

Fill you with misgivings,

The salt in your heart,

Soluble, crystalline, bleeds into the water

Pulling you down.

The brine rubs onto

The wounds life has made

And hurt seeps in.

You want more

Of every human feeling,

When there is not.

The waters are warm,

They ensconce my zealous heart,

And whether you swim,

I will float.

Published in the anthology With the Boundless Immaculacy of Love, pp 83-84, publisher: Mewadev Granth Academy, February 2024. ISBN: 978-81-963240-4-9.