i'm starting to be where i need to be

each person changes my state.

every room alters my chemistry.

some leave me clear.

some leave sediment settling quietly at the bottom.

some evaporate and leave only traces.

grief becomes a solvent, holding what should never have been mine.

shame settles to the bottom in layers.

i spend years separating what belongs to me from what was poured into me.

anger transforms me— a catalyst, speeding every reaction while remaining apparently unchanged.

love expands me to hold more than seems physically able.

silence dissolves, absorbed into language.

people misidentify me because i am never the same twice.

they mistake adaptation for absence.

but water is still water

whether it becomes ice, steam, rain, river, or ocean.

its state changes. its chemical make up remains.

maybe that is what pure meant all along.

not untouched.

complete in itself

no matter what the world adds to me.