THE RIVER OF UNMINDFULNESS
ROW FURTHER OUT TO SEA.
The sun is slowly setting
Your small craft shakes violently in the growing storm
It takes all your strength just to keep rowing
Trying to hold steady
And then in the distance you see it
A ship stuck on the horizon
The sails display the silhouette of an unfamiliar monarch
The same silhouette
As the coin you carry in your pocket
The craft sits still and lifeless
The storm is growing steadily
You row toward the vessel
Its deck is littered
With emaciated corpses
Reaching out
Asking for help
You wish you could
A wave hits
Overturning the boat
Washing you overboard
You struggle to stay afloat
The waves are disorienting
There’s something strange about the water
It’s making you forget why you came here
It’s making you want to stop struggling
You do
You’re not sure which way is up and which is down
You can feel your lungs crying out for air
You don’t care