sailing in a boat
is not
being the ocean
corrugating with energy in waves
being a home for fish
and plants
and life
flying in a plane
is not
being the sky
glowing like the sunset
floating like a cloud
loving a person
is not
being the person
or being love
or being anything
except versions of happy
sad
and afraid
that are stranger
and stronger
getting what you want
is not
being someone new
and being someone new
is not
being happy
fame
is not
superiority
transcendence
immortality
it is not
even
the closest thing
Nicola Lawford is a first-year Engineering Science student at the University of Toronto.