Safe Harbor

It's time to shelve the books
having recognized that
swimming requires entering the water

Life does not allow you to wade in
but drops you into the turbulent ocean
with roiling waves and no land in sight

Having shed the weight of identity,
you find now that you are naturally buoyant,
swimming in the ocean of existence is effortless

Others around you flounder and cry for help,
refusing to let go of their burden,
clutching objects as they choke and sputter

A desperate, drowning swimmer
wraps their arms around your neck,
their weight threatening to drag you under

The momentary panic you feel is seen
from a safe harbor and you realize
that your feet could touch bottom all along

In this instant of recognition you transform
from buoy to lighthouse, a beacon drawing others
from darkness and death to light and life