as a child they told me sadness 

would come in waves like the ocean,

but all i ever got

was the occasional trickle of rain 

from the holes in the ceiling.

it wasn’t until i grew up and learned

that sometimes sadness would hit me like a tsunami when i least expected it,

when i had responsibilities to take care of,

when i needed my emotional stability the most.

like a wave pool

sadness tossed me around

until i couldn’t see my feet through the water anymore,

until water filled my lungs like a pinata,

until it felt like everything i ever knew was drowning.

nobody warned me as a child

that sadness was not constant,

rather fluctuating like the rise and fall of the tides.