with open eyes i swam beneath the surface of a lake and as a fisherman
casts his fishing lines so did the sun cast rays into the shadowed green.
i was alone until i came upon the dead men, a field of them,
each floating at the end of a long chain that descended down to darkness,
like balloons tethered to a child’s wrist, their sodden flesh had begun to slip
the way i’m told clothes can slip from the body of someone beautiful
when they choose to undress before you. i cannot remember
what else happened only that i woke lonely wondering
how long a corpse can float before it is overcome.
it is so difficult to love someone, other humans
make such demands and not unjustly, i just can’t say no
once feelings start.
