Flailing/Not Flailing
       

I've heard the drowning
are normally silent,
often still.

Some succumb
at home—dry—
hours later.

What do lifeguards
watch for, blinking
back sun, bored?

Children sink
and bob,
sink again.

The pool closes
its clear door
over them.

Who can say
who's failing,
who's having fun,

what face
distress wears
beneath the water?

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Copyright © 2021 Francesca Bell All rights reserved
from Bright Stain
Red Hen Press
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission