Submerged

this is a reflection of a beginning
the result of a momentary insanity,k
a one minute bravery.
I stood next to you out of curiosity.
three a.m. standing in black,
under one thousand stars
rushing from the left into the clouds.
clothes drenched in remnants of the Cahaba River,
heavy legs dragging in the sand.
you stumbled,
I followed.

heaven forbid, you fall into the water
like that;
cold, vulnerable,
free,
but I never learned to swim,
and I knew you wouldn’t jump.
words limped pathetic
between one lip and the other.
languages mocked impotent
and useless.

still you spoke,
thoughtful, yet careless.
i stood next to you out of curiosity,
out of late night,

I stood next to you out of curiosity,
out of carpe diem
mentality.
and this place is already
out of this world.
held softly between banks

I stood next to you out of curiosity.
you fell into
the water, so i
jumped in.

---

Sarah E. Ponder, age 17
Helena, Alabama
Pelham High School
Teacher: Connie Nolen