Float On

A Poem by RSB

Wander.

Snow covered mountains, sprinkled with bare trees and broken homes, overlook a pale blue sea of ice. She wanders the rink, neck craned, eyes fixed on sunny, clouded sky. Blind to the slow duress of the ground beneath her. Crackles spread, still she wanders. Weak foundation breaks beneath her. She plunges through.

Shocked, engulfed in crisp winter water, her weight is her anchor, blonde hair her trail. Face scrunched and small. Arms drawn upward, she falls. She’s as tall as she’s ever been, as tall as she’ll ever be.

Minutes pass. She releases her jaw, her fists, her forehead, and sinks, still. She tilts her head to see clouds one last time. And just like that, she fades away.

Float on.

Knees crater soil, palms imprint ice. He swallows and sinks deeper than she. He fell through the cracks when she did. Light strikes eyes that still see; air pierces lungs that still breathe. Still, he sinks. Still, he shrieks.

His weight a boulder, brown eyes a burden. At last, he lifts his face, lays his sight upon a bed of water framing icy puzzle pieces. Shards cruel and broken but still, they float on.