#isametaphor

Glowing red eyes

These waters have lapped at my feet before. I have been to this shore. I know the tingling cold against my thighs. My clothes have swollen around me and clung and swirled. The waves have knocked me back. I am certain the same fish have grazed my legs. They have told me with their touch I am not like them and do not belong here. I have pressed on. I have walked into the sea and held my breath and plunged into the swirling dark and panicked bubbles have risen bidden by desperation. I have wandered into the razor coral and tread upon the crab. I have felt the fire in my lungs. The shame has burned brighter in my face. My hands have become alien in the murk. I have lost control. I have lost my breath completely and smiled. I have heard my heart beat louder than all. My eyes have darkened and my body has floated to the surface and my lungs have exhaled the poison and breathed in the same world as before. I have left these waters, exhausted and shaking. I have been tossed and turned and lost and spurned by the tides. I have left these shores with a fleeting impression. I have always come back.