There is a Sadness
written by: Melissa Lemay
in the water
it pulls me out to sleep
or to walk
i can’t be sure
and can’t be sure of me
the moontide pulls
on all our insides
pulling out the dreams
the sadness lingers
eons etched in memories
a paper note floats
on water’s surface
eventide
paper never sinks
it carries my dead dreams
written with invisible ink
paper breaks down more
quickly
i’d better hurry and swim
if there’s any hope of
drowning these last sins
there’s water in the soil
it mixes with the sand
the pores and lines
mingling with the bones
in my hands no water
for it sings right through
evaporates in light
to a new sky-dance
there’s water in my lungs
i am choking i can’t breathe
water turns putrid black
bacteria eats away at me
i have forgotten what was lost
on water’s crippled wings
disseminated
into ice blocks and
less tangible things
boiling water
on rock face
in the hot september sun
drops whisper to atmosphere
by one by one by one
i float into the cloud sphere
and burn myself away
promising i’ll come again
in last-minute summer rain
- There is a Sadness - September 28, 2025
- I Was Human - July 1, 2025
- Tiny Paper Boats - April 2, 2025
