the deep end

what does it mean to say
that one has gone off
the deep end?

where is the deep end,
are they there forever
when he or she departs.

or is it a short visit.
i had an aunt who had
gone there and never

came back. i remember
my mother whispering into
the phone that her sister

had gone off the deep end.
and as a child i imagined
her springing off a highdive

with her arms spread open,
sailing gracefully
through the blue summer air.

i wanted for a long time
to know where this place was,
would i know it when i arrived.

would i too, someday, go there.