the swimmer

you wave goodbye
to her on the shore,
and tell her that
you love her, that'll
you'll be back soon.
you kiss her on
the lips and hand
her your clothes,
your shoes, your watch.
wait for me on
the beach, you tell her.
wait right her, i'll
be back. just wait.
and you dive cleanly
into the glistening
waves, you begin
to swim, the ocean
is calm and inviting,
it is the color of
the sky, egg blue
and sways like a
sheet of silver foil
as far as the eye
can see. a warm
morning sun, just
rising whispers
like a siren, to
come in, to come on.
go, and so you do.
you swim out, one arm
over the other, your
strong legs kicking
up white in the gentle
waves, further and
further you swim out
until the water is
no longer blue, but
grey and dark with
the bottom and what
lies beneath, you
have gone too far,
and your arms and
legs are weary, and you
can taste the salt
of breaking waves
in your mouth, your
lips are raw, your
eyes burn. your heart
is about to burst
with something like
sadness, you
have gone too far
and you turn towards
shore to see if you
can see her, but
she's not there. she
is gone, perhaps
she was never there,
but you look back
and hope just the same.