Drowning

There was a time when the sand was my sister,

Fun and annoying.

The sky was my mother,

Watchful and unpredictable.

And I was in love with the ocean.

He would play tag with my sister,

Draw pictures of seafoam for my mother,

And love me the way the wind loves a boat.

But one day he changed suddenly,

Hissing that he was hungry.

He pulled me under so quickly.

I never saw it coming.

I thought this was him loving,

Until I started choking.

Now I’m left explaining to a pocket full of sand that,

“Sissy, sometimes people are nasty.

And sometimes they leave you lonely.”

And my mother looks down at my bruises,

Demanding answers,

And I whisper, “I’m clumsy.”

I have saltwater stains in the depths of my lungs

That keeps me up at night coughing,

But people still have the audacity to say,

“Why are you so scared?

It’s not like you’re downing.”