Dark Moon Water

Jana Zaudke, University of Kansas School of Medicine, MS4

The gap between each breath,
Between us,
This is where I will meet you today
And tomorrow.

There we will swim toward each other
Within just this one breath.
Like children learning the night that is water,
The water that is night,
Our eyes will be quiet,
And our bodies will see the path before us
For us.
We will feel drawn,
Winged creatures that we are,
To fly through this medium of resistance
To each other.

And this is where we are today,
The umbilicus making its way toward the spine.
We have come to the end of this breath,
And there's delight and sorrow in the exhale.
Our wiggling bodies press toward the surface,
Anticipating an escape from this dark water,
To breathe in air and light,
And the different truths these bring.

My heart is open.
I am filling with breath,
And soon I will seek you.
The sun's warmth stored in the breath of our bodies,
This will warm us
As we swim toward each other
Within the dark moon water
Cupped between each of our breaths.