A POEM A DAY

I think water is your element

In swim class, I hold your body

as the water holds us both

I used to hold my breath 

each time your head went

below water,
Now I exhale

like the bubbles you’re supposed

to spit out each time the water

goes into your mouth.
The smile on your face reflects
off the water

When you kick your feet,
it feels like you want to fly

swells and swallows
me whole.
I whisper, where’s mama?
And your body is a ship
set for shore, for True North

Mama is a lighthouse,

a silver smile through the storm.

My head so often

bobs beneath the water,

and I lose my eyes when

I hear your muffled voice

echo like a firework. I overhear another parent say,
you’ll never get this time back
The words rise and fall over me

like hands on a clock,

and when I look over my shoulder,

I see class is over.