It was foolish to say it could be done.
The boat washing through the shimmering water,
the cannons loaded and ready.
The world could be a striking place to venture.
And as the Earth moved in long ovals,
everyone stopped.
The fish stopped darting
and all their thoughts were focused on the world
as the boat sailed and made a street to carry.
Then the fish started to twitch and swam forth
and everyone stopped peering through their windows.
Everything stopped watching.
and so the ocean rose
and the laws of gravity paused
and all the fish flew and took breaths and began to sing.
They sang of the life and death of the world.
The sailors clutched the sides of the boat.
The fish sang of longing and hope.
and so the sun stopped
and the city was not visible
and the Earth continued to turn
and the moon continued to orbit a small blue and green planet.
And the scorching night darkened.
And so the moon took place and sat.
But the sea stood up even more.
And so the fish sang of encouragement.
And so they sang and the sea came to rest.
And the sailors in that boat were the only ones who knew the song the fish had sung.
As the fire was burning,
the forest loomed above the hollow of the world,
the drifting snow freezing the lake.
As the snow neared the fire it melted,
the heat blazing.
Then the roots of the trees lifted the ice from the lake.
The trunks grew into trees and the snow melted away.
The tree branches extended and the lake rose to the air.
The leaves grew to larger sizes
and the Earth stopped.
Everything went dark.
Then there was light and from the swirling water came fish.
The fish began to sing and their song whistled like the wind in the trees.
The water touched the canopy.
The fish sang like birds
and their song was about life and death.
Their song stirred the restless creatures and inspired love and compassion.
And under the lake a fire blazed and crackled to the song.
The fire was a flare of light and the campers were amazed.
The fire showed across the wood-laden forest but did not burn it.
And the fish sang louder of life and death
and the sound was strong.
But then the music ended and the water dropped and put out the fire.
In the west, far in the desert mountains,
there lay a slender oasis.
And so as two lost tourists watched the moon
low in the water lay fish.
The water glimmered
clearing a path across the planet.
And everyone on Earth could feel it.
As the planet’s pace slowed,
there came a stately view.
The universe lay infinite above.
And so the water rose to the darkness above
and the fish sang like jewels.
Their song was like silver.
They sang of the thread that connects everything
and they sang of the stars.
They leaped to touch the sky above.
And stardust landed and shimmered
and the shimmering fish sang of the ever-growing edge.
They sang further, of space,
that the world would stop turning,
and they sang of the outer world,
and the vastness of the universe became clear.
The stars spun millions of times around the world.
And so the fish sang and the water dropped and the fish disappeared.
And the Earth continued.
As the rain fell,
the universe would fold in two.
The measureless thing is the universe,
the falling rain being a speck of dust.
And in the field there was a woman
staring into the forest.
And from both low and high
a sense that a tower arose shining beacons of light across the Earth.
And where that tower should have been
the waters raged harder until they had formed a lake of water.
And it grew wider and began to rise to the sky
and the rain became softer
and the universe vaster.
So the fish sang with a recalling tone.
They sang of the return of everything.
They sang as if teaching
and the song was now troubled.
The fish sang of souls since lost,
the spirits ceaselessly circling.
And so the spirits began their descent to the heavens
and the fish addressed their fellow comrades with song.
The feeling was now dark and the thunder brewed.
The roots pulled up from the ground and held the water and trapped it.
And as the water soaked into the woman’s pants,
the fish sang of health.
And with a sweetened song the rain dispersed and the water washed through
the roots.
