Some of our values live on the surface. We know them, speak them easily, and feel proud of them. Others live deeper, under the skin, invisible until someone presses against them. And when they’re pressed, they hurt. That hurt is not the problem — it’s a messenger.

A reflective piece using the metaphor of floating in water to explore living in the present. Water symbolizes the past, air the future, and the surface is now. It cautions against drowning in memories or leaping into worry, urging readers to find calm within to steady life’s turbulent waters, whether lake, ocean, or river. Includes imagery and a nod to Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now.

A found poem composed from MS Trust’s description of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). It mirrors the disease’s progression—shortening lines and fractured phrasing echo cognitive decline and aphasia—while honoring the poet’s mother, who died of PML. The piece foregrounds harsh clinical language to convey the illness’s cruelty and the tension between hope and a grave prognosis.