The judge of the sea has a watery
seat, mighty Poseidon swims
from sandbar to sandbar
hangs from knots of coral
reef, dives with the Minke whale
practices echolocation with eels.
We no longer swim underwater–
even in pools–for the sake of ears
the useless childhood
shaking and stomping of feet.
We sit instead on the concrete
lip, tracing currents with our toes
imagining the perfect dive
water parting before us
no one watching, no applause
just the sun glinting, warming the tiles.
