Water

We were like water once. A deep pool overhung with branches of maple and birch. In the still water, we seeped into one another, silently, smoothly, easily.

Our thoughts were without thinking. Our voices spoke in chorus. We breathed one breath.

A boatsman entered our quiet pool, his motor cutting a wake into our still world. Waves lapped onto the shore. Our hearts no longer beat in rhythm. We felt a stirring in the cooler water below. We came up for air.

Now we are stones along the path, weathered in tones of ocher and slate.

Reflecting the cold light of a full moon.

Radiating the warmth of sun on a summer afternoon.

Touching, but just barely.