I use water to pretend

I pretend I am floating outside of it
without the gravity of this place
like a heavy metal weight
with a brand scratched into the surface
that says "enter here and have it lifted"

I pretend to have unlimited buoyancy
I pretend to have an upward force inside
although the 'upward force' usually seems real
I call on it and it brings me to the surface
quickly, once I speak it out

I use water to pretend
that I am inside a pocket of breathable air
leaving the rest of the world immersed
floating like noah, I suppose
Although I would never let you drown

long baths, the ocean
using water to suspend my body
outside / inside
where everything else is displaced
I am in the in-between
emptied out

I shout thinking the sound will be contained
but it carries
I let my voice seemingly crash
only to have sound waves surface and bend
being amplified

those sounds expose me
as I try to swallow them
like cheeks blown up
and then slapped