clean
the water ripples, coalescing. when i was a child, i had read that one drop of holy water could make a whole lake blessed. i went out with a cup of clean water and tried to remove the pollution from the muddy brown river. i was stupid for believing i could do anything. green silk forms on its surface in the shallow parts of it, growing from the rocks that lie just under the water. when the tide is low, i go out and lie down among the rocks and the dried algae. i close my eyes, and try to feel it start growing from me, try to feel how it would eat away at my flesh. i don't know what to do with myself. i wish i could stay here forever.