UNDER/In
I woke up here.
It took me a while to realize I wasn’t dead. Just, drowning.
The day before was a normal day. I didn’t change my diet. I didn’t commit a crime. I went to bed at a reasonable time. Now, here I am, drowning. I close my eyes, hoping, praying that it disappears. It doesn’t.
I’m not alone. No, there are others. We don’t talk about it, but we know. We see those on the other side. Those who wonder. Poke. Stare. Is it empathy or curiosity? Can they help us? Being saved is something we’ve all lost hope for. Look at our faces.
At least we’re alive, right? Close my eyes. Open. Yes, still alive. What a ludicrous metric for optimism. This inexplicable pain; this suffering we live with. I gasp for air. Restricted, frustrated, alive. I give up.
I’m still here.
I smile at a passerby. It’s a habit, smiling. You know, you’re prettier when you smile.
Works completed 2014 - 2016
