The Aquarium (I Banged on the Glass) - 3/12/13

It was a rule I had broken:
I banged on the glass...

All I saw was a beautiful fish.
Golden scales, diamond eyes.
I had never seen such before...
My admiration, I could not ignore.
I would watch it daily.
Sometimes, it would dive deep...
So deep that it forced my mind to do the same.
Other times,
It would retreat away...
Which made me wonder if it was scared,
Or if it actually had something to say.
There were moments when it swam close to me,
Glistening, shining as brightly as its mind,
Giving me a chance to see that it was one-of-a-kind.
But if I ever attempted to hook it with a line,
It would hang on for a second,
Then dart away, leaving glimmers behind.
I would visit daily,
Often more confused than before.
Did this fish wish to captured, admired, or ignored?
Why would it approach, only to leave?
It seemed fond of me, but proved otherwise when I began to believe.
Despite it all, I still cast my line and interacted.
This was a fish like no other,
And that was all that really mattered.
It was as though I could never get too close,
And that the fish wasn't sure of its surroundings...
It always swam in the same patterns,
Or it dove so deep that it would risk drowning.
What I discovered next was astounding...
This poor soul was swimming in its own tears.
I couldn't get close because it was in a self-imposed aquarium,
Walls made of its own doubts and fears.
It swam close just to feel appreciated...
Tugged on the line see what would happen.
Swam to the surface just to embrace the idea of hope,
Dove to the bottom to remind itself of its trappings.
The darkness of the bottom was designed to block the shine...
But I saw light, potential, greatness...
Blinding beauty that etched its own spot in my mind.
There's no way to kindly cast a line...
Not when a soul has been caught and hurt numerous times.
Islands of scars were both reminders and barriers,
A way for me to see what she brought back from the sea,
And a way to keep away young men like me...
I had to reach out though,
Had to let it be known that I admired her majesty
Offer my thoughts, my affection, without her asking me.
So I pressed my chest against the glass,
Letting my heartbeat reverberate through the tank.
The echoes were so loud that they rose and sank...
I'd never seen a soul so in shock that its expression went blank.
A fish that deep intends on never being touched...
But I offered something that touches so deeply, so much.
The soul darted away into darkness,
Alarmed by the present, afraid of the future,
Seeking solace in the past.
I was left there, wondering how long the distance could last,
Would the fish come back in time...
Would the soul realize that it had heard from mine.
I then realized I had neglected to read a posted sign.
It explained so much with the one thing that it asked...
It was a rule I had broken:
I banged on the glass.
Or at least my heart did.

-A. Lewis