Treading Water

 

I am taking life less seriously now.

Stopped swimming against the flow.

 

I wonder whether this condition is permanent.

I used to enjoy the danger; relish the challenge.

 

The current was strong and I often had difficulty keeping my

head above water.

But with each stroke I would make such an emphatic statement.

 

Periodically I would reel, dizzied by the whirling;

Incensed by those who casually tube downstream — laughing –

oblivious to the turbulence.

 

Life would occasionally deal me a pool –

an island of calm, with a crystalline top,

reflecting the beauty surrounding me.

 

But it was always too deep.

Never shallow enough so I could touch bottom –

always an illusion of rest – nothing more.

 

Nevertheless that was enough.

 

Until the day when I just gave up…..

And now I wonder if I’ll drown.

 

Ray Brown