I was out on a raft
on my buddy's pond,
I was flat on my back,
I was lost in a song.
My friends jumped around,
the raft wasn't wide,
it started to tilt,
I slipped off the side.

        he rolls into the water
        sinks slow-mo with a grin
        sees these patterns all around him
        the waves, the sun, the shadows
        ignores the air he's trapped within

he sunk to the bottom
and thus he was blessed
because he was lax

I was walking one night,
I was headed to town,
I was moving too fast,
and not looking down.
One brick on the road,
stuck up from the rest,
it tripped me up good
and thus I was blessed.

        would you acquiesce as he did?
        would you slip into the calm?
        sounds once loud are muffled
        that's the compromise of depth
        that's to be, but not belong

he sunk to the bottom
and thus he was blessed
because he was lax

So here I am again,
dropped down below
the sweet breath of zen.

I skipped the big parade
and watched my friends
promenade.

And then when I return,
I am remade,
I have relearned

the peace that counteracts
and soothes the burn,
and I relax.

So I'm down looking up,
people swimming around,
or laid out on my back
on my way to town.
With this view of the trees
I am suddenly calm
and with that I rise
up to where I belong.

        (he rose up later breathing
        there was no foolish scheme
        succumbing, lax and sinking
        and thoughtless as the water
        he found the peace in him redeemed)

he sunk to the bottom
and thus he was blessed
because he was lax