Jamie Packard English Thursday, January 31, 2013

Summers Child
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Diving again, his hands push forward And pull down with every muscle, Like a beat of giant flukes, Until he is spent. He giggles and quivers like a memory of joy As he glides effortlessly into the abyss, slippery and long, He sinks down, down, Until his lungs betray him, Then bucks, scissoring the wet Exploding into the sky A golden teenager slow and long, turning, He breathes. Ribs expanding. And gathers strength. As quiet as whisper Slicing through water like a mammal from the deep With tawny arms that stretch pulling before him Made golden by the Hawaiian sun, His muscular legs follow. He stands, Still a boy, His frame sleek and thin and then Whoosh In one fluid motion, Hes gone, Whirlpools in his wake. It is no ordinary joy To swim like a barefoot boy.

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He goes aloft, laughing. Droplets of water glide from his skin In soft ripples and plinking drops Creating warm puddles in his wake. He dives again. This time I pace myself to stay near him Breast to breast, but slightly behind Watching, admiring his ease of movement. My underwater sun. As dusk becomes night, Looping, twirling, up and around, Undulating like a dolphin at play, Skirting the surface, As overhead celestial bodies fall in trail, Painting a cosmic world like in a fiery umbrella, Mirrored upon his glistening flanks in supple reflections. Water slides away In bands of colorful night song. Running to me, his wet prints follow. Markers of little feet, like a memory. He is spent, breathing, A warm towel, He smiles and shivers in my embrace While the aroma of chlorine touch my nose And globes of pool water dangle, From him Upon wisps of gold. Lets do it again, Dad! Lets do it again.