Pond Life (pondlife)
By Richard Mather
If water is the primal origin of all things
(as the ancient Greek sage
Thales of Miletus supposed),
then considering how hard it is
to wade through,
it must also be oil and pitch,
mercury and salt,
sulphur too,
with differing degrees of power
and viscosity, all stirred up and blended
into a huge pool
of liquid substance, thick enough
to get yourself stuck in.
But don’t call on the old gods and nymphs
of Thales’ day
to be your life guards.
They won’t jump in and save you
when you can’t move your legs
or catch your breath.
They just sit around
the pond
like so many frogs, puffing
themselves up and croaking
in the pleasant Mediterranean sun.