Learning To Swim

by jide

DATE: 04/09/2003 12:55:17 AM
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While swimming yesterday
I caught sight of a girl
floundering about in the shallows.

She attempted to crawl
while keeping her head above the surface;
I wanted to speak

but before I could
she turned to me and said,
“I keep sinking.”

I replied,
“Trust yourself to float.
 if you keep your head and rear
at water level, you will not sink.”

“Yes, but then I’d have
to hold my breath.  I think
I’ll try this first,” she said.

Then visions of an
eight-year-old black boy afraid
to remove the floating cube on his back
for fear of drowning in the deep end,

an instructor who never quite used
the right words to overcome the child’s fear
brought back the words I’d just spoken
the moment before;

memories of kidnappings and
guilt-laced trips to Bretton Woods
returned, like my mental nor’easters
always did;

and I could hardly believe I had become
the teacher, swimming before a female version of myself
who thrashed, plagued with the same elemental mistrust
I’d always known.

And at that moment I knew
I had forever left her drowning-crawl behind.

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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Ashley
URL:
DATE: 04/09/2003 10:07:24 AM
Wow Jide, that was way better than Ryan from 'the Bachelorette' !!
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