Lifeguard
       

Asterisk on the blacktop: dead crow
the camp van rolled over,

killed twice. He lies on the edge
of the dock. A rim around the lake

from lack of rain. Belly-up
canoe-pair beached

in the cutgrass and striped bass
trolling the muck-bed.

He drags a hand in
the narrows over

the dock-side, cutting the water
the boy breathes in,

the lake smooth-faced and silent.
Redwings dive for flies

as the water rushes
to reconstitute as glass, the lake

agitated from receiving
so many bodies.

He won't see the boy
lost against the flash

of pink one-pieces and orange
pool tubes—

pollen motes caught
in the afternoon's glow,

mosquito pinching his arm
as he watches the water,

stunned by the boredom of children
not drowning.

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Copyright © 2022 Casey Thayer All rights reserved
from Rational Anthem
University of Arkansas
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission