Come High Water

It feels like the World waits patiently for the time when you can be thrown into the Ocean.

We experience this at different times in our lives but it’s almost inevitable.

More like a norm. A ritual. It has to happen.

You are thrown into the Ocean regardless of whether you can swim or not.

No one considers whether you were taking swimming lessons and haven’t completed yet.

Whether you won your last competition or never had the opportunity to see a pond of water.

You are thrown in anyway and whatever you do to survive is up to you.

The moment your body touches the water, you realize what is happening.

The sudden changes in mediums and temperatures could be overwhelming.

From the sunny sea shores to the cold waters.

“What to do? What to do?” … “Is this how I die?”

The questions are barely asked when the storms take over.

This experience changes people.

“I must rebel against the waters. That’s the only life left.”

Soft spirits begin to transform. Reacting to the cruelty of the waves.

Fear floods your system. Fighting is the only way but you don’t know how.

In the panic of the moment you paddle your limbs in all directions.

… and then it happens. You get exhausted and tired from fighting back the rough waters .

It’s only at this point that you notice a plank of wood right next to you. Your rage had made you blind to a chance for rest.

This is where I currently am.

Gassed-up and writing from one end of the plank. A place to pause and reflect.

It’s here I get a clearer view. There are two kinds of people in this ocean.

Those that are controlled by the waves of the sea. They are changed by their experiences at sea. Hopelessly moving in the direction of the winds. Staying upset in their vulnerability to the storm.

Then there are those who know who they are and never lose sight of this. They were born for this.

To them, every scary stormy night or red burning eyes from long hours under water

gives them reason to keep going because at some point the sea gets calm again.

Soon the bullying waters become their slaves as they master the art of surfing towards the storms.

Written by: Estella Emefa Akiti – Amaglo