Epigram ‘n Aphorism Samwiches

Drowning

Drowning Time

I don’t know where you drown, but
mud fills your eyes. Have you swum in thick water,
something that goes way too deep?
Do you dare an undertow, dragged to soggy bottom?

Why did you tire of browning your skin on shore?
They served you those drinks with tiny umbrellas
until you fell asleep.
I would pick you up
before your skin burned red,
carried you to bed.

You could cool in satin, tucked in,
flesh breathing beneath
our soft-lit canopy. 

Waves rolled in at midnight.
You waded out, but did not take
my firm hand. You went to sea,
abandoned the chaise
where you could lie
in that forgiving black night —
with me.

Entangled in something, and far off,
I light a candle on the mantle
where the clock spoils delusion,
knowing it’s been too long.
I should just end scene.

I can’t give up on you,
if there’s even a chance.


3.4.22

Written about multiple people who I feel suffer, especially one in specific who has long captured my imagination, while I fumble with this unschooled heart.

That need to fix people when the process feels hopeless, yet we hang on.