you were the better swimmer
i almost drowned that day
though i never told you so
why ruin a perfectly good outing
with a confession like that
for several minutes i struggled
a riptide yanked me under
i drank and breathed in water
you were far ahead
what good to scream
no strength to do that anyway
so i struggled less and surrendered more
and somehow made it back to shore
afterward i stood at the water’s edge
letting waves rush toward me
but not allowing them to draw me in
even as white foam lassoed my ankles
i saw you appear and disappear
in wave after wave in swell upon swell
until in the bright flat calm miles away
you were just another splash of light
upon the vastness of the sea
and even as i regretted my inability
to keep up
to swim along
to brave the elements and survive
then as now i love(d) this image
of you in all your fearless abandon
in all your hopeful innocence
as you embraced the promise of a summer’s day