Water, Wind and Fire – A Poem

There is an ocean inside of me;

It fills every orifice,

every wrinkle in my skin,

each fingertip.

Most days,

the ocean within me is a calm,

serene sheet of blue,

as smooth as glass.

When I look deep inside,

I can see myself reflected within.

There is also a wind inside of me;

It fills my brain,

until it is all that I can hear.

Occasionally,

even the sound of my heartbeat

or the music of laughter

fail to reach me beyond the wind

I carry within.

Sometimes the wind in my mind

leaks into the water of my spirit,

seeping into it,

digging its fingers across the blue

so that the water ripples,

taking in more wind,

letting the fingers that rake across it surface

slip even deeper.

I can feel the water

starting to rise and can feel each tumultuous wave,

but I can see only the wind inside my head,

thick like a fog,

or like a smoke.

It fills my head so that I can’t see.

My eyes see the world around me,

but they can’t take it in.

My body is slapped by each wave,

each hurtful caress of water,

but I am ensconced in the fog of wind.

Yet,

for all of that,

there is also a fire that burns brightly inside of me.

When my soul has had enough of the crashing ocean,

It starts to grow brighter,

a fire within the water,

coming from deep below the surface

of the water,

pulsing like a beacon.

It rises up from the water,

brighter than the sun,

into the air itself that riles and rolls around it.

The light glows brighter still,

until it begins to crackle,

hiss and pop

and the fire flows free,

burning through the fog and the wisps of air

that fly away like discarded spiderwebs,

disappearing into nothingness,

until the wind that had blinded me

and the water that had splashed inside me

with such force that I couldn’t breathe,

are calm again.

I can hold the light,

for it is my fire,

contained within my heart.

I have only to let it out,

to let it shine bright.

It holds me and reminds me

that it is always there,

waiting to be discovered again.

I look into the water of my soul,

the wind of my mind caressing my face,

as I embrace the fire of my heart.

In the distance,

I can hear birdsong

and the sound of laughter.