like stepping into a still pool

deep in a primal cave—

you slip into this silence:

the light breathes, a liquid

luminescence, in slow

arrhythmic breaths,

and you are changed—

you see what you want

to see; desire, fear, hope

flicker across the surface

like faces of the dead,

hesitant and fleeting

until you see only your self

stripped of all significance

(July 2, 2018)