Soft Insistence

In a still pond at morning

two koi swim in a circle,

gold and white turning

through mirrored sky.

Round and round they move,

no beginning visible,

no end agreed upon—

only the soft insistence of water.

Their bodies curve like questions

that answer themselves

by continuing.

Above them, clouds drift.

Below them, stones wait.

Between, the circle widens,

tightens, widens again.

Are they chasing,

or being chased?

Leading,

or following?

The pond does not decide.

It simply holds the motion

without preference.

And in that endless turning,

existence reveals itself—

not as a straight path forward,

but as a quiet circle

where swimmer and water

are never two.