The boy is in the water
He's scrambling
Clinging desperately
to a plastic ring,
He looks back at me
Terrified
Help me, he cries
But I feel numb
I realise I cannot reach him
And I want him to disappear
Because I can't save him
And I've got to get on
With the rest of my life
Without him
And I feel annoyed
that I can still see him struggling
And hear his cries for help
I am in the water. I'm drowning
Every breath seems like my last.
And he is over there looking at me
Not wanting me to be here
Hating my neediness
My need to be rescued
His powerlessness to save me
We are locked into this dance
Unable to break the chain that binds us
Now in the water clinging to life
Now on dry land wanting to die
I can no more shake him off than I can save him
I can never drown so long as he is alive
The boy is in the water.
He won't go under quietly. He's channeling life
The man is in the dead zone. He just hasn't died yet.
The boy reminds him that he's still alive
That he must join the boy in the water
Face the terror of drowning if he wants to live