Sea of Possibilities
Daniel Jeremy Perz

In a sea of possibilities
I am pressed to find even one
Once open, the floodgates cannot be sealed
There is no turning back
Only to search the sea for an island
On which to survive
Not even to thrive
Just to strive to stay alive
Send me a lifeboat
        and it will sink
Send a lifejacket
        and the laws of physics will change
        and it will descend as Excalibur
Empower me to swim
        and a cyclone will come
        and I will drown
Command the sea to part
        and I will become a fish
        Unable to breathe; gasping for breath
Awash me on shore
        and the tide will come in
        and I will be baptized
        but not cured of sin
Convey a higher land
        and I’ll fall into a river
Bring me to the mountaintop
        and the Great Flood will come again
And the mountaintop will become an island
And I will believe
But I will not be alive