valley forge

unaware and unconcerned, the tide carried me further and further, out here to the open ocean. i scan the horizon for any signs of familiarity, anything solid to keep me afloat, but i find none. this is the point at which i must adapt and press on or falter and divide. but i have never been much of a conqueror and these frontiers always have a way of extinguishing my ambition. my chest feels heavy as cold water enters my lungs, my breathing feels labored as i recognize the endless void that lies ahead. my separate fears begin to colonize and construct a settlement of utter paranoia in my brain. hopelessly i lift my eyes one last time. the image of the grey, overbearing sky burns itself into my mind. i close my eyes and in a moment i am submerged, slowly i descend. weightless and emotionless i sink. no panic and no fight left inside, i drift with the waves. somewhere between surrender and sleep something brushes past my legs. frantically i open my eyes only to see the light from above dancing faintly on its watery stage. the dancing slows to a flickering and the light fades away, taking with it everything tangible. all my striving and dedication reduced to nothing, a piece of driftwood picked up and tossed against the raging waves. this is loss. as my eyes turn down i search for any gleam to guide my departure. my thoughts return to the brush past my legs as i realize that i am not alone. i am surrounded by creatures too hideous for life on the surface. eyes like balloons, teeth set like so many rows of jagged knives, skin shimmering like glass. this is the point at which i adapt, but not to press on, simply to survive in this new environment. failure makes a suitable teacher at these depths and i am an eager student. this is where my adaptation skills flourish, miles below, in secrecy, out of sight. look through my transparent skin and gaze upon my crooked spine. i am one of them, a wanderer roaming this dark expanse searching for the light, a vagrant drifting in these icy currents clinging to any warmth i can find. this is where i belong. buried with the misunderstood. left to scurry across the ocean floor, the only place i can call home, thriving in isolation.