Bottom Of The Pool

I’ve always felt kin to the water

I love to live within its cool

when I was young I would let myself sink

to the bottom of the swimming pool

and I would admire the reflection of the air world

through the crystal of the density

now separating us;

I’d heard stories of sailors on U.S.S Indianapolis

who let the water in and were immediately

absolved of all their sin,

and I would feel the burn in my lungs

that starts as a whisper

and grows to a din

a reminder to return to the breath;

But before I would push off and cut through

the weight of this airless world

I wondered what it would be like

if I were to let the water in

become one with it

and immediately

be absolved of all my sin.