immersion

Sometimes you have to blend in or disappear,
glaze over, hide, be silent, be unremarkable, lose
the way, feel impotent, forget the point, get dirty,
trip over your tongue, overestimate your power, underestimate
your exhaustion, fall behind, not know the language,
break your stride, stub your ego,
come panting in in last place.

This morning, I couldn't help myself.
I saw the Atlantic and just leapt in.

To my left, a god slid through the waves
like a seal. To my right, a ballerina
pirouetted around ropes of seaweed.
In front and behind, a cache of children,
giddy with sun, bobbed through a line of foam,
their innocence intact.

Flapping my arms in saltwater,
I was neither the picture of achievement
nor grace.

But no one was watching.
They were all too busy
swimming.