When I smile
At the tranquil face
Of the opaque lake
It smiles back; but
All I see is surface,
Pretty with ripples,
Occasionally pierced
By fish or insect,
Turtle or snake.
After I break beneath
Into the cool deep,
Other realities appear:
Hungry mouths feed,
Beings live and die,
Currents ebb and flow,
And far below
The welcoming mud
Receives all that falls.
