The Graduate English Journal of Hunter College

Trust

Remember?
do you remember the day we discovered the beach
remember that beautiful day we nearly drowned?
The two of you held your arms and elbows crooked around my neck      
                I stood up to my neck in ocean up to my chin in ocean   my lower lip tasting salt
I was the only one who felt the undertow tugging, pulling us inch by inch
over our heads and out to sea           And both of you oblivious to any danger
                                Two sets of small legs hooked around my hips   two sets of arms around my neck
                and a sudden word of alarm or a moment of panic
and arms would be a bony noose for my throat
legs would thrash and we'd be gulping sudden salt water

How easy to be doomed.     The lifeguard just an orange dot on the sand

So I fought the danger by standing on tip toe.          Then on tippy toes    then on gently bouncing tippy tip toes the saltiness buoying us                             while the ocean tugged at us and I gently bounced us inch by inch by inch to safety
            I held my breath for ten years before I told you
exhaling at last to tell you girls of the danger that day and our tippy toe bounce to safety
But even then I couldn't bear to tell you of our present danger                  you girls still oblivious to an undertow that was tugging tugging to take us out over our heads
while I continued to hold you hold you while I bounced us on tippy toes
                still buoyant don't panic
while I held you and looked for the day's grace to keep us bouncing gently
back to safety

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