I have always loved water;
grew up on the border
where land and river meet.
I delighted
in water sounds,
in its feel, cool and smooth,
in things living
in the shallows and depths,
and the off-chance
of spotting a water sprite.
I’m not a strong swimmer
anymore,
living inland
and growing old.
But I still love the river
and I am not afraid of drowning,
so why do I just keep treading water?
This is for dVerse where we were asked for some kind of self-portrait. Check it out, the examples given really helped shaped what I came up with. Also for PAD and NaPoWriMo Day 18.
smiles...great question in that last line...why do we just tread and not swim.
ReplyDeletei have an affinity for water adn i wonder if we dont all on some level considering it is what we are made of mostly....
Good point Brian. :o)
ReplyDeleteLove this one too, Mary. You are really getting good at packing things into these shorter poems so that everything balances and feeds into the whole. My favorite part in this one is the opening, which seems so full of memories, but the progression is just right to the wistful ending..
ReplyDeleteHa - by the end of the month I will likely be monosyllabic! But thanks Joy. I appreciate your comments and your support.
ReplyDeletenice... yeah...we all should dive full-body in instead of just treading... when i was a kid i would swim for hours - and i still love the lakes and the ocean..
ReplyDeleteI always thought you were a little fishy Claudia, lol. j/k Thanks for the visit, and I agree about diving in.
DeleteThe first stanza lulled me into a dream-like state, full of love of water (which I too love) ... and then that last line surprised me, with its rather poignant question.
ReplyDeleteThanks for finding time to visit and to comment!
DeleteLoved this poem and found the closing question arresting.........very existential! Loved it! It made me think! I do a lot of dog paddling myself! So tiring!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sherry. You strike me as more of a jump right in kinda' gal! :o)
DeleteI wonder if you will answer your own question, in time maybe.
ReplyDeleteYes, I need to think about that. Thank you.
DeleteFantastic...I am working on that question. I have stepped into water I never thought I would swim.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susie! Glad you hear you got your feet wet!
ReplyDeletethe real question we must ask ourselves... why do we tread water when we can still swim, nice. I grew up by a river too. It was a wonderful companion.
ReplyDeleteThere is something magical about rivers. Thanks BW.
ReplyDeleteoh the ending is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteWell done.
ReplyDeleteI believe we all may just be treading water.
Oh, that's too bad. :(
DeleteWhy do you keep treading water? Only you can answer that question!
ReplyDeleteVery lovely, and all we can do is tread lightly with all! In and out of water! Happy Easter to you Mary!
ReplyDeleteHave to swim to shore and give those legs a break
ReplyDeletewonderful
ReplyDeletepoignant piece . . . I love water too.
ReplyDeletewell, treading trumps drowning, I suppose... ~
ReplyDelete