wishing wells

a poem

image from pinterest

threw a coin into a wishing well
watched it sink down to the bottom
let my secrets fall down, rotten
and the wish in the well as well

dirty water can still cleanse
dirtier water, time unspent
is still time spent, through a different lens
words never mean what they might have meant 

the water washed away
the dirt on the damaged coin
but couldn't erase, didn't have a say
on the blood with which it was conjoined

the wishing well's water wasn't clean
it was weighed by time and
all the horrors it had seen
nor enemy, nor friend

it existed in a state of neutrality 
despite the pieces of war and wishes 
it held within, an endless capacity
to keep at bay those wild militias

and keep away the pain and loss
from the end of the world to the start
of something new, pathways cross
coins are tossed, it's not that hard

the water splashes and I place the blame
on the weight of my words
on the ripples that called my name
when I spoke the wish and the water heard

now that I've thrown my coin into the wishing well
amongst the echos of others
who've done the same, but who can tell
who they were, fathers, mothers

children with a hope for change
adults slowly going insane
only the throw of a coin still in their range
perhaps it's pointless, perhaps it's lame

or perhaps it's all we've ever known 
in spite of what we know we'll never have
to nevertheless wish for signs to be shown
to take each other's hand

even as you stand there by yourself
let the echos be your friends
then ask the waiting wishing well
to tell you how this ends

so you won't have to pretend
you know more than you let on
and you'll finally comprehend
where wishes go when they're gone

and you'll realise it's not so black and white 
nor static or stuck or out of reach
but colours hide, and change like the tide 
until they ostensibly bleach

squint your eyes
and the world will conform 
to the vision you see, the lies
you'll believe and will call the norm

it's easy to feel discouraged and wrong
if you close your eyes, you feel alone
the path seems hard, the road long 
so open your eyes, and feel in your bones

the running of blood that allows you to breathe 
the wishing well that has seen everything 
will tell you 'if you believe, you will succeed'
and the coin now sunk is your invisible string 

tying you to who you might've been
if your words meant nothing 
and you lived to sin
and the coin in your hand was slowly rotting

my heart has learnt to cradle the pain 
gently and slowly, but it's all in disdain
for the stars are dimming and the moon's in its wane
and my dutiful actions were all done in vain

I stare at the wishing well, the wishing well stares back
I've thrown my last coin and have nothing more to offer
the water rejoices and the sky turns black 
and the weight on my shoulders finally feels softer 

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Hi, sweet souls! Thank you endlessly for reading, I hope you have a wonderful day!

With love, Ella