Swimming Lesson Poem by Michael Joseph Ferguson

She stood
just outside
of view

like a memory

or a scent

a thin
wafting
presence

all of the
available
light
curled
up by
her
side

in the Dance,
it becomes
clear
that

love...

LOVE

isn't just
a game

it's a
circumstance

an atmosphere

and Greek Gods
and the fairest
of maidens got
it all
wrong

it's tangential

like an equation

an ocean one
must learn
to swim
in

great flocks
of children
kind of Love

cloud exploding
vibrant shafts
of light
kind of Love

no more of this
drowning business

there!

that island!

go!


She hovered,
just outside
of view

like a memory

or a scent

a sweet
uncut jewel

refracting
light

the way
stillness
holds the
sound

and I
went up

and took
her hand.