swim

he grabbed me by my wrists 

looked me in my eyes

held on tight to my soul 

and asked me

"when did you stop treading?

how long ago was it 

when you decided to give up

on everything you had been diving for,

for so long?

i've seen you swim through every ocean

but as soon as you come across a river

you decide to stop?

when did diving become drowning?

when did you give up?"

i knew the answer was in me somewhere

or maybe it was in me

on the high seas 

would i have to swim backwards?