Reflected in Water

written for a contest of succinct pjilosophy - the meaning of life in 16 lines or less

 

Reflected in Water

I feel sorry for those who walk,

    Along the beach, the hot sun baking their desires as sand into glass

Always testing the water with fingers or dipping of toes

        Evaluating the qualifications of the lifeguard- but never actually

 

Diving or jumping or wading or slipping or even being pushed

   Into the rolling surf itself

Waiting … for the right temperature, the perfect timing, permission, even-

 Assurance of continued safety. Promised absence of sharks.

 

Forgetting that the point of it all really is

     To simply learn what it is and how it feels to drown.

The sky they see reflected in the water as empty as the spaces

    Their lives were meant to fill.

Reviews

[Through the Gateway]

A wonderful piece, calling out to each of us to seize each and every opportunity to actually *live*. Indeed, if we continually wait for the perfect time, life will pass us by and we will look back onto the surf that was our life and notice...we never once tested the waters.

A beautiful and inspiring piece, Marie!

[raining]

also, irony..... i went swimming in the ocean for the first time, all by myself...Hampton beach last weekend. imagine being so landlocked for all these years... so this poem is especially relevant for me. thanks raining

[raining]

...a feeling of being seperate, is it about depression, it seems it is. About those who never learn to run, to free themselves by being part of change, only seeing the reflected image of those who are changing. To think one knows when (like Plato's cave) all is illusion until we realize that it is illusion. Then because we see that it is illusion we can comprehend the nature of our caught soul(s) and ironicly we become as free as it is possible to be (free). something like that.

This poem addresses tha issue, it is very good and gives us a look at the dilema we are faced with. That is why i like it. -raining

[Sorry Infamous]

Really, this was very well written. The imagery is strong, you can almost smell the water, I can see those you speak of so hesitant like they were right in front of my face. Life is not living if your not willing to live it.
Lovely, heart breaking...
I dived in head first.

[Vesa Lee]

This is truly inspiring.
......
Forgetting that the point of it all really is
To simply learn what it is and how it feels to drown.
......

To live the life we've been given...
The good the bad; to know it and to go on living.
It seems so elementary but most of us (myself included) still haven't figure out how.
Beautifully done.
Good luck in the contest!