barotrauma
You can’t take all of who you are
from one place to another.
You have to let go of yourself,
bit by bit,
to descend into a place
you’ve only seen in rippled visions.
And by the time you feel the pressure lift,
you’ve patiently bobbed up and down,
cheeks red,
ears stinging.
Open your eyes—
only then will you see the world
that once hurt too much to enter.