Intertwined

I kiss you and I'm brought back to a childhood filled to the brim with swings going higher and higher and higher, just like your potential. When i kiss you, i kiss a person whose swing was cut at the tippy top and whose mother was not there with kisses and a bandaid when you fell. When I kiss you, I'm entangled in your the fears that haunt you late at night and the monsters that reside in your head, attacking every ounce of confidence you ever owned. When I kiss you, I am enveloped in the wrenching heartbreak of the loss of love, and the need for acceptance. When I kiss you, I gain insight into the person who is painfully misunderstood, marked as a troublemaker, and ostracized for his past. When I kiss you, I kiss all the smoke inhaled into your lungs, the alcohol your liver can take no longer, and the deepest darkest thoughts hidden in your mind. When I kiss you i understand you for who you really are, and I could not be more addicted.

I pity you

People ask why I swim. Why do you spend so much time swimming in the same pool, in the same lane, hopelessly swimming back and forth? How do you exert yourself past pure exhaustion, just to go one one hundredth of a second faster? How do you wake up at 4 every morning, and don't you ever get sick of it? What if i told you i have no clue? But what if I also told you I pity the people who don't swim. They'll never know the feeling of water engulfing their body as it slides past and hugs every curve present. They'll never have the feeling of empowerment as their hand pushes the mountain of water past them, thrusting them forward and toward their ending goal. They'll never experience the moment of exhilaration as they thrust their fingers to the wall with every ounce of their being. They'll never remember the moment of pure bliss as they whirl their head around to see a number one next to their lane. They will also never gain the comradery, character, athleticism, and life lessons only gained from a life full of swimming. I swim because I don't know how to stop. It is the one thing I feel completely comfortable having an uncurable addiction to, and I wouldn't have it any other way. So if you don't swim, please don't pity me, but instead envy the love and dedication I have to something I truly care about.