A soft and tiny whisper of sound, slowly rising off the turbulent water:

"Oh! The torment of being trapped,

engulfed in a flowing volume of confusion and doubt."

The wind, perhaps a fallen branch?

"Stop the memories! They cause such pain with each prick and probe;

Who? What? Where? Oh, how I long for recognition and awareness,

yet fear the consequences it brings."

A cry for attention, a plea for remembrance; am I mad?

I ask softly, "Hello, can you hear me? Who are you? Why are you trapped?"

SILENCE

A sudden distraught voice, "Where have you gone? Speak to me!"

Realization and shock; awareness that it was mine.

Perhaps I am mad, disillusioned; or just confused?

I turn to go, I slip? A fall? Perhaps a light touch upon my ankle!

A sudden loss of balance and a splash, total submersion

the feeling of weightfulness, absolute terror, infinite blackness...

SILENCE

Understanding, a river of forgotten souls

where time slowly begins to erase all memories,

and with each fleeting thought or recollection,

an intense pain flows through my being.

I try in vain to grasp the past

hoping to snag a tiny portion of a lost love, or a past hate-

only to be engulfed in agony; then a sudden feeling of emptiness.

I beg for mercy, scream out, "Please stop the torment, leave me alone!"

Only to hear...

SILENCE