Under Water
Four lines on the particular peace of being submerged — and the small relief of returning.
There’s a specific kind of quiet you only get under water. This is for that.
Being under water helps me heal
And when I re-emerge from the depths
Of the sea, or merely a swimming pool
I am relieved
Under water, the world’s noise is just gone. You can’t hear the phone, the news, the ambient hum of obligation. The body remembers something the mind keeps forgetting — that silence is a real thing, and it’s recoverable.
The relieved at the end isn’t relief at being out. It’s relief at having been there. The going under is the medicine.
— JTC