Sunday, June 5, 2011

Poetry Jam - Swimming

I'm disappointed not to have had (or invested) the time to write something new...so this is one from the archives, circa 2004. 


Immersion
 

Surprising how many sharks troll in your love,
though not unexpected; deep and strong as it is,
I did not plan for only angel fish
when I dove so decidedly in,
bringing extra tanks in case you would not let me breathe,
a knife in case I tangled in your nets,
and lights for darkness in your depths,
(I've done this before, you know, and drowned).

My friend and diving partner quit these seas
when his second marriage sank
with the speed of guilty feet encased in cement,
and tries to convince me to sky dive instead,
the birds always young and fresh like gravity-free chocolate,
tan and firm with a constant upward wind in the face,
but after the short adrenalin minutes
all that remains is to fold the chute.

At least the appetites of sharks are honest
and their bites direct.
So I keep on kicking downward through my years
to swim in your ferocious schools,
to care for your coral,
and maybe,

when oxygen starts running low,
to sing with your whales.

9 comments:

  1. this is a gorgeous write...and love how you blended diving with relationships...and esp when the oxygen runs out to sing with the whales...very nice...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this, Mark. How true. And so full of fabulous images - the gravity-free chocolate! Bravo for taking the plunge!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like your analogies - very clever.

    ReplyDelete
  4. At least the appetites of sharks are honest - killer line

    ReplyDelete
  5. Grass and gravity-free chocolate - not better on the other side, best to fold the chute. Love this 'found' poem.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The metaphor works very well all the way though. Delightful.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bravo for taking the plunge into shark infested waters! I would like to have a bit of that gravity-free chocolate though!

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is great. I've often wondered what I would do if something ever happened to Mike. I fear I wouldn't dive high OR low - I'll just sit on the shore & watch the show.

    ReplyDelete