Here Lies a Pool of Water

Here lies a pool of water.

It is a deep pool, dark, and wide, and still.

Many have dove confidently into it and returned, but still nobody knows how far down it goes.

All around the surface there are people examining it.

Many are afraid to get in.

Some dip their toes cautiously.

Some have dove in, and the water burned their skin, so they vow never to go near it.

Some dare not to even look at the water.

But if you dive in, really dive, and no part of you is resistant to it, you will come out feeling refreshed, the water will be cool to your skin and it will cleanse your soul.

Some wade around in the water waist high, their legs below and their torso above to warmed and to see by the sun and moon, but they still like to be close to the water and thus keep half of their body submerged.

Some walk around with only their ankles in the water, and when asked about their choice, they say "what water?" But some of these ankle dwellers have seen lower, and can show their fellow ankle dwellers to look for their feet, always to their astonishment.

Under the water, there are still stranger dwellers.

Those who wear goggles, and have grown to never need to surface again for air. Just like the toe dippers above, they are afraid of what lies on the other side, and prefer to splash and swim about below in the darkness, for they have embraced the dark and created art and flippers and they tumble about playfully to pass their time.

Further still, down where no sunlight can reach, there lies a great sleeping creature. It is wise and ancient, and if you swim too near it, it will eat you.

Many tales have evoked this creature, and it is believed that those who dwell underwater are trying to get closer to it, even if they do not know.

Only few know it exists, and fewer still are brave enough to go searching for it.

If you respect its wisdom, and swim only close enough to hear its breath without being swallowed up, you will learn a great deal about the water indeed.

Provided, that is, that you are able to find your way back to the surface to share your knowledge.

For many of those who seek this wisdom lose sight of which way is up in the all consuming darkness at this depth.

Deeper still lies an endless abyss of which very few who enter will return, and those who do return will not be understood.

Humans are not yet equipped to reach this depth and understand anything down there, and especially not to communicate it.

But for most, the water is simply a pool to splash about in, people still rely too greatly on the sun to truly consider the depths of the water as part of their soul.

https://oc.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/4hwb45/to_notwrite/ https://oc.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/4hw9vj/you_said_that_you_liked_to_peel_oranges/