Reflected World

[Ben Burnett]

I look out upon your waters, 
So smooth, so calm,
That for a time, 
I believe them to be solid.

And something stirs in me,
Something I had never felt before,
As if I were falling, and flying,
All at once.

Happiness I’ve never felt before,
It glows inside my chest,
And an inner hum throbs out all other thoughts,
I can’t help, but to smile.

I look down and see myself looking back at me, 
The clouds lazily drifting along,
The trees swaying in the breeze,
And the sun reflected brightly.

All of it so serene, so pure,
I couldn’t help myself,
And I dipped my hand in the cool water,
To receive a bitter happiness.

I had disturbed the very water which I loved,
But I felt an awing sensation in my palm,
Almost like I had put it through a portal,
It felt like it was part of the water.

I felt a longing, so powerful,
That I could not resist if I had wanted,
I yearned to explore this other realm,
So I swiftly laid my canoe onto the still plane.

I silently row across the mystifying waters,
Sending ripples through the mirrored depths,
Like a shadow, I speed quietly across,
To an island I’ve grown fond of.

I drag my canoe up onto the soft dirt,
And walk though tall grass, 
To the soft earth of the shore,
Where the water gently licks at the warm sand.

The water is ever calm,
Rippling only under a tender breeze,
I slowly wade in, 
Becoming lighter, becoming more open.

The water reaches the base of mine neck,
And I feel as if I have transformed,
Suspended in the cool, murky water,
I breathe deeply, becoming one with it.

For hours, I stay there, 
Just breathing, emptying my mind,
Then at last, I slowly immerse my entire head,
To see beneath the mirror what lays beyond.

I open my eyes, and almost gasp,
For I can only see a few inches,
But an entire world I see before me,
Filled with peace, and tranquility.

I see leaves, plants, floating along,
Fish darting through the seaweed, 
The soft, wet sand on the bottom,
And stunning rocks that diamonds envy.

I want to stay under, but need to breathe,
As I burst out from under the waves,
I bring with me hundreds of water droplets,
They splatter my face, like rainfall.

I stand there for some time,
Just thinking, and smiling,
I shall dive under but once more,
So I can be sure ‘tis not an illusion.

After I again emerge from the depths,
I swim back to the small island,
And I lay on my back, on the grass,
Just watching the clouds pass by.

I watch the clouds dance,
The trees swaying in the breeze,
The birds flitting in and out of shadows,
Everything seems like it is breathing, living.

The water and trees sing to my ears,
A song of serenity, and peace,
While the air laughs heartily,
And the birds pipe a melody to each other.

I lay there for an hour,
Before I gently doze off,
The sounds enter my dreams,
And I smile again.

After some hours I slowly awake,
To find it is dusk,
The sky alit like a colossal flame,
And the sun a burning orb.

The water looks to be a shimmering light,
And I cannot tell if the sky is an answer,
Or if the water is a suggestion,
For their beauty is so great and wondrous.

For many more hours, I sit there,
Staring at the sparkling waves,
And watching dusk turn to night,
Watching the stars appear.

The moon rises from the East,
And shines a full, round, disk,
Casting its light upon the entire lake,
Creating eerily beautiful shadows everywhere.

The stars all shined down on the water,
Creating a perfectly mirrored night sky,
And making me smile yet again,
This truly was a reflected world.