POEM FROM ESCAPRIL
The Warmth of the Water
about how it feels to be beneath the water.
I haven’t written anything new recently, because I’m focusing on some upcoming college exams but I was browsing through my work and I saw this one and wanted to share it here with you guys too. I hope you’re all doing okay :)
TW: drowning
I breathe,
sink myself into a home beneath
and it’s blue, warm, endless.
I search,
and I’m not sure what I’m looking for
but I’m sure it’s beautiful-
no wonder my eyes sting
I believe it is hard to keep your eyes on something so beautiful.
The water wraps me in its wet blanket
brings comfort when it,
drowns
the sound above.
I think it’s so calming,
that I don’t notice when it
steals my breath.
A book I read in 2020, explained that drowning isn’t always loud. That sometimes, a body of water can swallow a person quietly and almost suddenly. I have only been close to drowning once, when I was 13, squirming under the water when the mermaid technique was not bringing me to the surface of the deep end fast enough. I only remember how quiet it was beneath the water, even though the panic I felt was loud inside me.
The difference between this poem and ‘The Sea’s Dinner’ is that one represents drowning physically and the other, emotionally. I think I’ve definitely learned that there isn’t only one way to drown.
I hadn’t reflected on that moment until I reread this poem. As I travel along this journey in poetry, I begin to remember little stories that I have experienced that have crept their way into my “fiction.” The human mind certainly is funny and it reminds me of a conversation that I had with Kiki Lu Johnson who always provides thought-provoking comments that quite frequently blow my mind, and cause me to reflect. Thank you, Kiki, for being inspiring and even more importantly for being a friend.
Thank you to everyone who reads this, for constantly showing up for me and simply being here. There are too many of you to name, but I trust you know who you are. It does mean more than you know. I wanted to say a quick thank you after a movie I watched called “Spontaneous.” Whilst incredibly long and slightly non-sensical, its moral (I believe) is that we aren’t guaranteed even one more second, let alone a day. I wanted to use it to say thank you!
As always, thank you for stopping by,
-Rieko :)
