Water boatmen

They say

that DNA

imprints on water

So when we swim

a million particles 

stream out behind,

like double-helix

microscopic sea horses

And we can never truly say

That we are not the water,

Or that the water is not us.

Yet we wander the world

Like water boatmen.

Skimming glassy surfaces
Testing the tension

Of the violin-bow meniscus

Where desire to live and feel

Can be heard as a low thrum between us

If we listen hard enough.

We want to walk on water
Skate over the warm reflections
Traverse the smooth shores
And ride the waves, when they come

Yet imprint we must
On life as in water
Seek possibilities knowing
We'll leave some part of ourselves behind
Or that we'll crack, and let the water in
Break the tension, break the spell
Change and merge
The plunge will come.
But if not now, then when?