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POEM: touching bottom

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touching bottom

I was six, maybe seven
we were all in the pool
at my friend Adam’s house
on a summer afternoon
at that age we mostly stayed
out of the deep end
but I got the urge to explore
I guess I was treading water
when my arms got tired
and I started to slip lower
just like that
I was looking up at the
fuzzy sun through a
rapidly thickening layer
of chlorinated water
my feet touched bottom
I must have stayed there
for an hour, maybe two
not needing to breathe
not really afraid
just accepting
I feel like I should
remember panicking
but it’s a peaceful memory
just the water and my
small body beneath it

/ / /

the way I heard it afterward
Adam’s dad realized
I was missing
and jumped into the pool
to pull me up from the bottom
I was fine, of course
well, as fine as anyone can be
who misses a chance like that

26 January 2013
Auburn, AL

Published in Auburn My poems Poem-A-Day 2013 Poetry

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