Open Waters

The dam breaks loose,
releasing the rapids stored behind it.
Water I had let pass under the bridge,
now flooding over me again,
sweeping me into the current of memories
and swirling me in an eddy of past emotions.
I fight the crashing waves a second time,
and a third, and a fourth.
The obstacles I thought I had already overcome
rising over my head once more and pulling me
into the undertow.
But I refuse to drown, and I push toward the shore
where I can safely breathe the air of the present.