The Myth of Separation

Why do we try to own
each little pain,
as if it were unique to us,
part of what defines us?

Why can’t we accept
that in the stream of life,
pleasures and pains
will jostle all of us
as they tumble by?

Why do we claim each one
as MINE,
forgetting that we swim
in the same soup
as every other being,
sharing joy and suffering
in all their forms?

Why do we hide
in the bubble of identity,
sheltered in the drama of our stories,
when there is so much comfort to be found
in what we hold in common?

Why do we not remember
the sea we were all born in,
that we always share,
even when we’re gone?