I did not mean to make mistakes
Feel defeated at each turn
Getting weighed down by missed opportunities
Heaviest those which will not return
Thinking back to simpler times
I miss smiles we couldn't control
Wishing it could be that easy again
But it's hard when we are not quite whole
Each day weakens my tired shoulders
Vision clouded by permanent haze
Walking in circles
Bones aching with fear
Just trying to get out of this maze

Flashes of silvery scales
that formed an endless chalky chain,
casting back my jarring image,
distorted by the watery current of life;
my mouth opened and closed,
my eyes lost in a daze;
the unblinking eyes of the milkfish
as they stared deep into the void
mirrored back to me
like moon to the lake
I mused to myself
whether
the milkfish knew they were
forever swimming in circles;
and they mused to themselves
if
the humans knew they were
forever walking in circles.