The river
is always rising,
carrying me somewhere
I cannot yet see.
I float on
looking for the farther shore
but somehow I slip past everything
I know,
out to an ocean
as dark and smooth as oil.
Unfamiliar stars turn above
and beneath me.
The out-of-phase moon
throws her light before me
illuminating
the edge of the Earth.
I try to paddle back
against the tide
losing a little
with each stroke.
All my nightmares
now sail
noiselessly
along with me
The clocks have all lost their numbers;
why do we always think we have time?
Written for Magpie Tales creative writing group.