The desire is to dive down,

slip under the surface,

slide effortless through blue.

To let go of breath in all

its regular insistence,

the heart’s demands.

To see beneath, a milky

light arresting altered eyes,

liquid dissolving distances

between what’s concealed

and visible. The flesh

permits departure

not escape. The body

quieted, not shed. Arms

propel, limbs animate,

their rhythm patterning

our daily breath,

while we swim

in substances we barely see,

through and into, but

not beyond.