Drowning
by Wendy Darling

A narrow strait, waves swelling
Twice as high as the strait is wide

Young boy standing, white skin gleaming
Soft wonder in his eyes, white blond hair

I'm standing, not far, worrying
About the waves, which lap, pull, tear

Does no on see him, ankles in the surf?
Am I the only with eyes, a heart, a mind?

Suddenly I am farther back, now far
Out of the surf, looking into the strait

The sun before me, the boy before me
Far away, with no one else in the water

Everyone is turned away, looking elsewhere
When the wave rises, up and over

My eyes blink shut, and when they open
I see a lump, a rounded head, under the wave

For a terrible moment I see the boy's face
Wrenched with fear, panic, dripping with water

I try to move, but my feet seem bolted
And it's a pity, for only I can see

To everyone else, I scream and scream
"Child! Child! Child! Drowning!"

I can't point, can't move, can only scream
And watch the wave pull the boy under

No one is listening, so I take out my keyboard
And type an email: "The boy is drowning!"

I send the email high priority to the list
But no one responds.

I wake up in bed, knowing the boy is dead.