the fish story

in the forest two suns shine bright
one up above, one down below set deep in the still glassy water
as the day finds comfort in itself both suns slowly slide across palettes of blue
if you stand where the tallest pine stands they look as if they are pulled like magnets toward one another
until they finally settle at the entrance to a pathway of waves that dip into the darkness
a small fish swims hard within this mountain stream the suns have chosen for their home
so tender in his belief that the ocean must be over the hill
little does he know that he fights a fight in the wrong direction
he dreams to be where he will be free from the boredom of the stream
he dreams to be in the ocean where the sun shines and the winds blow the water into crashing waves
but his life was hard
so he prayed to end his miserable existence, his struggle for more
he prayed and swam and prayed some more
but nothing happened
he was a small fish who fought the current, pushed against the tide
he tried so hard
but little did he know that even if he could be bigger, like he wanted to be
even if he could have pushed harder he was going in the wrong direction and would never, ever find the ocean
with it’s beautiful blue water, and waves that crash upon the shore

then one day the small fish realized he was too tired
too tired to fight the mountain stream anymore
too tired to live with the dream of sunshine
too tired to believe that he would ever see the ocean winds, the wild waves

so he closed his eyes, said goodbye to the struggle and let go

he could feel the mountain stream push him down, down deep
to the dark, cold, still canyons lying at the center of the earth
where death takes you to keep you dead
he could not believe in anything else

but he could feel
he could feel the stream push him, turn him round and round and round
and in his dizzy head he imagined he could feel the warm water making it’s way under his skin
forming a bed around him and he slept the sleep of the tired
he dreamed again of the ocean waves, the sunshine, the sound of wind blowing overhead
but even in his dream he believed he could not be there
he did not swim hard enough to find the ocean

as his dreams began to still the fish felt the sunshine on his body, smelled the salty air
and though a sure sign of where he was, he thought he was still asleep
can this be the ocean I’ve been longing for? he asked
and when he heard his voice he knew
he could not still be asleep
now I can live the life I have never been able to live before
the powerful ocean waves, the beautiful blue water, the warm sunshine
I’ve come to the place of my dreams
no more struggle
with that sentiment the small fish laid back to enjoy his good fortune
and was promptly swallowed by a bigger fish who dreamed of being in a calm still pond

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