Ladies and gentlemen, I have startling news. I am a fish.

the kind of fish that treads water desperately trying to stay afloat in this troubling time of drought
not drowning per se -- no, the situation does not call for such immediate action
i can tread just fine but
at a certain point the ripples moving outward seem endless
my tired little body, a pinprick, creating an annoying fold on this textured piece of industrial paper we call “71% of Earth’s surface”

but why is it a sea?
when my vision is slowly narrowing, converging at a single point on the horizon
why is it a lake? because the only land that surrounds me isn’t real.
for now, im trapped in the middle of make-believe valleys and pop-up story mountains 
how can anything be so.. flat..
so depthless it feels like the creator forgot to shade in the sky and soften the edges of dirty blond mountains
leaving us in a two dimensional cartoon; an incomplete setting to an ongoing plot line

only its a s***** plot line.
written by a greedy amateur who keeps creating problems for the character to make another cheap sequel
profiting off of their equally cheap, jaded protagonist -- a dirty mutt of all things super
the only reason it sells is because of its comically loud cover, as though overcompensating for its extraordinarly lackluster story
with every purchase the character jumps a little higher, leaps a smidge farther
stupidly unaware of the perpetual running and nonexistent save point

you’d think they’d learn by now.

maybe they already know and they’re just ignoring it.
because after all, what can you do?
whether its the force of a thermodynamic current flowing from the poles and equator,
or an intelligent creator confining you the edges of a comic book panel
1 feet, 2 ft, 1000 --makes no difference because you’re always drowning or being chased.
swimming or running away won’t let you escape from the fact that there is no end.

that no matter how far you’ve gone, theres still a lifetime ahead.

sometimes it’d be nice to be a fish.
just for a while, to avoid the responsibility of being human.