Poems that you love

[rayheinrich]

a poem by michael mcneilly:


the you the water remembers
-----------------------------------

we took the bumper jack with us into the lake
to anchor our swimsuits
and swam skin to skin
until the day reddened past noon
and when I pretended I couldn't find
our underwater locker
you stood and walked right up onto the beach
less red than I

the water closed behind you like
the fog that rolls in over Alcatraz
and my pride cost me
a bumper jack and some swimsuits that day
but I walked out too
tried to shrug off the water and the sun
with an assurance akin to your own
and we dressed in the sand
it's the one thing I remember best about you

20 years since
and I haven't a single picture except
this one to recall
the you the sun bathed in splendor
the you the water
remembers