Dead Man Drowning

Dead Man Drowning

You are a dead man drowning,
body bobbing below the surface.
The top of the water is a mirror,
a face distorted somewhere below.

Are you sinking or swimming or just lying there out of reach?

You are in the shallows or in the depths,
always moving onward or upward or away.
The darkness afforded by the deep
is the lifeline you have chosen to embrace. 

A body has no choice but to be a corpse when it has sucked its own soul dry.

Why does your body rise to the top
but always turn its back on the light?
How long can a body stay there floating
without sinking forever out of sight?
When will the creatures of the depths
claim the body as a corpse of the night? 

I thought I could eventually rescue you
and breathe life into your damaged soul.
That you would leave the shadows behind
and choose a life somewhere on the shore. 

Our dreams find their death when someone we love struggles and goes under. 

But you are only a dead man drowning
in the wading pool of your own excess.
You struggle as if you want to be free
but willingly dive back into the undertow. 

Why do you act as if you want to reclaim life when you are already dead? 

I can no longer
watch from the shore
as you let yourself
be pulled back under 
one 
last
time...

Author: John RC Potter

Photo:  Li Yang on Unsplash