Does water in a river flow underneath the ice?

I stand, wondering what would happen if I jumped straight in.
I might be carried away
By the current to some other land.
Freeze to death beneath the surface.

The fish would pick at my eyelids
Leaving me to stare at the icy ceiling,
My reflection shuddering and cracked.

I would become trapped in an underwater nightmare.
The cruelty of the river
Scraping and snapping at my skin.
Making a sculpture of me.

Would it take long to freeze underneath the ice?

I lean forward, staring straight at oblivion.
I might flail and thrash
Hours of desperation and horror
Before the blackness took over.

The water would flash green,
Yellow, blue
As all the stages came over me:
Cold, oxygen, movement,
All ceased in vibrant illumination.

Limbs would float
Motionless.
Shatter at the touch of weeds,
Stroking gently to no avail.

Will the water welcome me, underneath the ice?

Thinking, doubting, hoping for the courage.

It might take me in its arms
Wrap around me like a lover,
Caress and electrify my body.

The water could smile and open up,
Accepting, suffocating,
The cold as a blanket around a sleeping child.

It might spit me out and churn me helpless
Onto the bank.
Left to face the warmth of the world
And write another page of the story
In bitterness and misery.

I am frozen, longing for the icy silence
of the liquid pain
That encompasses the shadow that has already jumped,
Dancing among the mermaids,
Beckoning me to join the white parade.

Join us as we march, join us as we dance,
Frozen in time, frozen in space,
We will lead you into peace.

The water is glorious, shining immaculate.
Desire is overpowering sensibility
Limbs are beginning to move,
Slowly, rigidly,
Towards the egde.

Nothing to fear,
Nothing to feel.
No one to please and nothing to hold.

Stepping out into the air,
A rush of emotion hits me,
BOOM!
The last I will ever know.
The frozen lady of the lake.