Took a break from existential dread
stepped outside my mind
where shadows stopped whispering
and time didn't watch me
with its crooked smile
I walked barefoot
across grass that didn't question
its purpose
felt air that breathed
without doubt
touched water
that knew how to flow
without fear of endings
I spoke
to trees who'd forgotten
what it meant to count rings
to birds who flew
without craving a destination
and in that space
between heartbeat and hush
I found silence,
a silence that asked nothing of me
that gave nothing but itself—
unworried, unhurried,
alive enough
to simply be
and when I returned
to the edge
of myself,
I carried back
less dread
and more wonder
in pockets
lined with something
almost
like peace.
and now
I lower myself gently
into the old well,
darkness pooled beneath me—
but this time,
instead of drowning,
I find water clear enough
to show reflections
of stars I've forgotten,
depths that hold
my face
without judgment,
reminding me
it's not falling
if you choose
to descend
into yourself
to draw water
you've always had
within.
