poem

 Hydrophobic

Given our crystalline compositions

It’s a wonder everyone doesn’t dissolve

Surrounded by all this water

Fragile lattices of salts and minerals 

Weakly linked by electrostatic

Forces that falter when wet.

Danger lurks in every

Pond, lake and ocean

Even puddles are a threat 

Each of us a cube of sugar

Teetering on the edge 

Of a cup of hot tea

Which is why they always say

Don’t drink the water

If you don't know what’s in it—

So many invisible impurities

Hiding in its clarity.

I suppose we owe our wholeness to skin

Which wrinkles and folds

And tries not to let anything in.

I keep throwing myself

in the sea

I keep dragging myself

to shore

6/21/26