hundreds of people
on a veranda
and a patio
in a huge backyard
overlooking a pool
that flows into
an ocean
I am in the pool
there are others
I know everyone there
but I cannot tell you
their names--they
are a part of some future
I have not come to
I go down, drowning--one time
I am flailing
the party goers all turn
and watch... once I bob
back up, they turn back
to their conversations,
their drinks, their dance
I go down, two times
desperate
the party goers watch
again, interested but
not moved, they watch
I surface, they return
to conversation, second
drinks, hors d'oeuvres
I sink, a final time
three-time strikes
they watch once more
and when I'm gone
never to surface again
they turn, laughter
hors d'oeuvres, dance
conversation, plans
to unfold without me.
© Valerie Bridgeman
February 21, 2013
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