I plunged
from the last rung
of the rickety ladder
that hung
from the back
of my father’s boat.
I touched the bottom
of the lake,
wet slime squishing
between my toes.
I bobbed back up,
green algae
sticking in my hair,
and saw a huge rust-colored freighter
carving its way
across the lake
a white-tipped tail
trailing behind it.
The body of
our boat was
rocking from side to side
as my body
bounced gently up
and down
carried, by the pull
of the waves.
I felt my size
as my tee-shirt
ballooned out around me
while I floated on my back,
watching the massive ship
drift away
in the distance.
I was one drop
of water
in a flooded basement,
one blade of grass
in an unkempt lawn
floating insignificantly
in the water.
