Hippos

.

I’m sinking like a hippopotamus

walking on the bottom

water overhead

.

I push myself up to the surface

take a great gulp of air

before falling again

.

Gravity pulls me down

I’m too dense too float

filled up with woes

.

Down below I wander

make new trails

try to find a way out

.

With all my might

I rise to the surface again

thirsty for air

.

Then sink, sink, sink

to an in-between place

where sounds are muffled

.

There’s a channel I follow

made by an elder

who came before

.

This is the way of the hippos

forging underwater laneways

opening up weed beds

allowing ideas to flow

along with fresh currents

.

This is the way of the hippos

bringing life in solitary journeys

then gathering in the shallows

to share stories and love

and new ways of being

.

By Carys Owen

‘Hippos’ is based on another great animal fact I just learned.

Perhaps you already know that hippos don’t swim- they’re too

dense- so they either hang out in the shallows or walk in the

deeper water, pushing themselves up for air every now and then.