ODE Poem: Ode to the Wonders of Water, by Benjamin Ta

You, water,
object of my praise.
Oh, wondrous clouds,
plush beyond measure.
I want to admire you for
hours with my gaze.
Oh, crystalline taste-inexorable pleasure.
Lustrous beads that form an
endless expanse
oceans alive
with undulating motions.

Oceans of endless
depth, infinitely clear
particles shield light from
the dark depths all humans know.
Lustrous beads that bond together,
a mirage which wavers,
a hallucination
leading us off
the cliff of sorrow.

Lustrous beads create
impenetrable fog.
I’m senseless, unaware
of what lies
right in front of me,
blind to the truth
right under my nose.
The revelation remains restrained,
reticent due to nagging thoughts.

Lustrous beads pour
down
down
down-
a torrent that
floods, drowns,
and embraces me.
A mirror into my soul.
A gateway
to my assurances.
An introspection
to my insecurities.

You could drown me,
boil me,
freeze me,
and I need that.
You don’t scare me.
You relieve me.

I need you
to quench my thirst
down my throat-
but how,
how can I ask for you?
We scrutinize
your impurities,
traces of viruses
and algae.

But the pure water,
the clean water,
portrays our
best selves,
reflections not clouded
by impurities.

Why is it so hard
to find water
in our dry society,
though it’s in all of us?

Endless abundance,
yet so sparse,
an unnoticed sight:
the wonders of water.