Margaret Atwood on Water

The following is an excerpt from Margaret Atwood’s novella, The Penelopiad (a retelling of The Odyssey from the perspective of Penelope and her twelve maids), laid out here as a poem for your reading pleasure.

Water does not resist.
Water flows.
When you plunge
your hand into it,
all you feel is a caress.

Water is not a solid wall,
it will not stop you.
But water always goes
where it wants to go,
and nothing in the end
can stand against it.

Water is patient.
Dripping water
wears away a stone.
Remember that,
my child. Remember
you are half water.

If you can’t go
through an obstacle,
go around it.
Water does.

+ Margaret Atwood