Mixed Metaphors

A writer's journey to meaning, inspired by The Freedom Flotilla

Mixed Metaphors? Interesting! What metaphor are you thinking of?

Snorkeling!

I’ve been snorkelling a few times. Colourful fishes move around in the calm waters underneath and make you happy. Bleached corals remind you that there are things to be sad about. But the silence and the calm under water. You can’t help but feel a calmer yourself.

While snorkelling, my friend taught me to free dive. Well, as much as he could teach me in a minute as we were bobbing around on the waves. I would rock around with the waves for a bit, relaxing my breath, then take a breath and dive in. The calm felt even calmer because I couldn’t hear myself breathing.

The sea looks all choppy on the surface. Sometimes it’s waves that people surf on. Sometimes the waves are big enough to sink ships. And sometimes they become a tsunami that people die in.

But always, underneath, it’s calm. Wait...that got away from me.

It sounds like what you really wanted was to talk about the sea, not snorkelling. Is that where you wanted to go?

Yes, I think that’s right. But not just the sea. Rivers...also have water. I’ve been kayaking on a few rivers, and I went on a river cruise once. But mostly I’ve been sitting on the shores, listening to the water and skipping stones.

They have currents. They are calm in some places, and rough in others. People swim in the calm places, they raft in the rough places. Everyone laughs. Sometimes, rivers flood. Sometimes dams are built. House are destroyed. People die. The river’s feelings are blocked.

Snorkelling, seas and rivers. What’s next? Lakes?

Not lakes. Forests! Forests have trees. And sometimes, the trees are on fire. Not the big ones that engulf whole states and countries. That’s too much anger. Little fires. Like the show, *Little Fires Everywhere*.

There’s little fires everywhere. But somehow they never become big. So no one ever sees that the forest is hurting. Even the forest may know that it’s hurting till the fire gets out of control. Is it even, actually, hurting?

Are you sure you’re finding the right metaphor?

I don’t know. What I wanted to say is that I’ve never been an angry person. They’re right. I don’t feel angry very often, but sometimes I do. I don’t feel sad very often, but sometimes I do, though more often than I feel angry.

And I wonder, is that...normal? I guess it has to be. It’s my normal. But is it good? I guess what I’m really trying to say is that most of the times, I feel like I’m out of sync with the world.

Imagine you’re a drummer. Most songs have a beat in a cycle of four. Imagine you’re playing a beat that is in a cycle of three. So you’re completely out of the rhythm of the song.

That’s how I’ve been feeling through the brutal attack on October 7 and the genocide that continues as I write this.

However, about a week back, twelve people took of on a boat called Madleen and Instagram kindly decided to show their reels to me. They are on the way to Gaza, hoping to force Israel’s hand into breaking the siege and letting humanitarian aid in. There is a very real chance they will be deported, or arrested, or killed. All three things have happened previously with other boats from the same organisation.

That’s how I found myself, for a brief moment, back in sync with the world. The song is in a cycle of four and you, the drummer is playing on three. But every twelve beats, the two rhythms line up and it sounds wonderful again for a bit. If you’re a good drummer, this cycle of discord and synchronisation can add a whole new metaphor to this song.

So, to recap: rivers, sea, forests, fires, drums?

Yup. I’m like an island on the sea. The beaches are beautiful, and waves of all sizes keep crashing on them. There are forests throughout the island separated by rivers rushing into the sea. No fire gets too big because of the rivers and the constant rain. The rains, the forest, the fires, the river, the sea: they are all in discord and harmony with each other. All the time.

I hope these twelve brave souls achieve their goal. I hope the people of Gaza get a respite. Free Palestine.