our laws of motion

by Jenny Wu
Art by Annika Javier
Issue: Kalopsia (Spring 2017)

like the ebb and flow of the ocean
i come
you go
we clash and crash and smash thrash—
splash.
i return only out of devotion.

you push
i pull
but don’t let me
go
sinking through the ocean lake river creeks for
ever.

we are fluid
you and i
rise and fall like the tides,
in and out of sync;
the moon cannot grasp the notion
of moving us equally.

we float to and fro—
swear we were wading only moments ago
—now we are adrift at sea;
i try to find an anchor in you
as you hook yourself onto me.

we give, we take
we love and ache,
we wear
our heart on our body
and our nerve on our face;
we set sail for the vast pacific
and you let me captain our ship,
then we steered straight into a nameless river
where i let you down
and i let me drown
and i left us hanging
around.

now without you, i feel
like vapor,
but with you, i freeze
into stone.
i long to stay;
i need to go
—why can’t i do them both?

you come
i go
like the ebb and flow of an ocean
waning—though still i would always return,
if only out of devotion,
for these were our laws of motion.