shadow

I never said I was perfect but
I certainly am terrified I'm not

Below me the uneasy chaos roils
and the monsters swim, or glide, or pulse
alien, cold-blooded, huge

And I, standing on a wafer-thin platform, not quite
the diameter I need to set myself straight
and tall and sturdy

balance between above
below

weather, and
deep dark

and I choke in a breath of
salty rich air
alive now
requiring perfection to poise
my awkward movements between the boundaries
of certain death
sudden destruction
and
a closing of water over my head

How...
Who placed me here
and what malicious entity would
create such a game
as this wafer thin life
too small for my large stance
too thin and brittle
for my weight?

A breeze whips up and I
teeter slightly
It smells delicious
killing me

With massive effort I regain my centre, on my foothold;
my small space in this large universe

only to have a gust of wind buffet me down
down

down

and what catches me
is not the mouth of Leviathan
but

a hand
spacious with blessing
and
ready to carry me

to a dry and solid
meadow
with swallows
diving heedless of danger
falling for the joy
of fearless flight through

grace