Swimming through the Struggles

Do you ever picture your struggles?

I did.
In between chapters in The Grapes of Wrath
There’s a turtle trying to cross the road
Back then, that’s how I did it, only with water.
I pictured myself in the middle of a lake swimming little by little.
That image constantly flashed.

Youth is a time when most most swallow too much.

When it was impossible to get away from people,
Impossible to be strong,
I became too tired of swimming and had strength only in my legs.

When people hated me just because they could
Shame did too, imagining what it could do.

Water, water everywhere and I unable to breath.
These images so clear, as clear as seeing my face
just beneath the surface of that glassy water.
From what I gather, everyone has swallowed this water

But most find their footing too.

In the midst of the swim, do you look beyond the struggle
picture what land will look like?
In between looking at myself and all the other swimmers
I saw a barren, lonely island – but it was still land.
and most of us have become too deformed and scared to leave it.
When you reach that land, do you think it will be the final step?
I did.