Jumping In

 

His knees bounce.

His legs quiver.

His torso and head

bend forward,

hesitate,

straighten,

bend again toward the deep end

of my school’s new pool.

That fluorescent baby blue

reflects my son’s frame

painted fluid on the water

in widening ripples,

sending shafts of Michael

toward the shallow end

where he began his lesson,

as his frame lengthens, as

his body moves watery on the board,

life reflecting art,

Then he looks at my eyes,

at the teenage girl waiting below,

and I know he will jump

into the deep

just to see

what it feels like.

 

— by Paul Totah