Merely Water

I am the quietest lake.

I take in all, yet I absorb nothing.

There are those who fish in me.

They dip their hooks looking for answers, for kinship,

but I do not choose their catch.

I am merely a lake.

I am the fastest river.

I reveal all, yet I give away nothing.

Emotion flows through me,

bubbling and jumping at the surface like spawning salmon.

They spray the air grasping at familiarity, at connection,

but I do not know what they touch.

I am merely a river.

I am the calmest ocean.

I acknowledge all, yet comprehend nothing.

Memories wash over me,

like castaways floating for survival on the waves.

They cling to life through understanding, through empathy,

as if humanity can grant them breath and fill their lungs with sympathetic airs

but I do not help them reach safety.

I am merely an ocean.

I am the loneliest body of water.

I am kin to all, yet relate to nothing.

Thoughts flood around me,

circling me like a plastic tube in a pool.

They pass beside me looking for a way into my head, a way into my heart,

as if their penetration will tell me the secrets of the world,

as if they will make me whole and bonded with all peoples,

but I do not feel the world's love, its confusion and worries.

I am merely a body of water.

I merely a human.