Nathaniel Sverloff
until the next whistle
It was summer
I was eight
He was ten
and the church
had taken us all
to the water park
We set up
at the picnic tables
towels and lotions
sandals and sunglasses
floaties for the very young
then we joined hands
and prayed
for god to bless
the day
Amen
and they turned us
loose,
scurrying little legs
off in every direction,
and we could go
wherever we wanted
and I went one way
and He went the other
There were tall slides,
twisting tube rides,
and river rafting,
but I always went
to “Breaker Bay”
a large pool
where they’d blow a whistle
and the waves would start
and keep coming
until the next whistle
With the sun
on my back
and the water
against my legs
I was feeling good
and I swam out
until my feet were
no longer touching
Soon, the whistle blew
and the first wave
crashed over me
and I laughed
into the second wave
and again into
the third
the fourth
the fifth
I breathed into
the sixth
the seventh
the eighth
and I began
choking
coughing
gasping
for air
I reached
for the emergency exit
a small aluminum ladder
leading up
to the lifeguard post
“Get down, kid!”
the man said,
loud and angry,
through the megaphone
“Get the hell down!”
and I let go
the ninth
the tenth
the eleventh
fell on me
filled my lungs
I lost count
after that
and I began to sink
Then,
I saw Him
over the surface
of the water
the Sun
bright and beaming
against His back
He reached down
grabbed my arm
pulled me up
and we rode the wave
together
to the shallow end
He laid me down
on the cement,
scurrying little legs
all around me
“Don’t run!”
someone shouted,
loud and angry,
through the megaphone
“Are you okay?”
He asked
“Thank you.”
I said
He smiled
slapped my back
walked away
as the next whistle blew
Now,
twenty-three years later
as the waves rise
and crash over
my aging flesh
much quicker
much more powerful
than before
I look for Him
over the surface,
the Sun
bright and beaming
as He reaches
down
I look for Him
until the next whistle
Amen
It was summer
I was eight
He was ten
and the church
had taken us all
to the water park
We set up
at the picnic tables
towels and lotions
sandals and sunglasses
floaties for the very young
then we joined hands
and prayed
for god to bless
the day
Amen
and they turned us
loose,
scurrying little legs
off in every direction,
and we could go
wherever we wanted
and I went one way
and He went the other
There were tall slides,
twisting tube rides,
and river rafting,
but I always went
to “Breaker Bay”
a large pool
where they’d blow a whistle
and the waves would start
and keep coming
until the next whistle
With the sun
on my back
and the water
against my legs
I was feeling good
and I swam out
until my feet were
no longer touching
Soon, the whistle blew
and the first wave
crashed over me
and I laughed
into the second wave
and again into
the third
the fourth
the fifth
I breathed into
the sixth
the seventh
the eighth
and I began
choking
coughing
gasping
for air
I reached
for the emergency exit
a small aluminum ladder
leading up
to the lifeguard post
“Get down, kid!”
the man said,
loud and angry,
through the megaphone
“Get the hell down!”
and I let go
the ninth
the tenth
the eleventh
fell on me
filled my lungs
I lost count
after that
and I began to sink
Then,
I saw Him
over the surface
of the water
the Sun
bright and beaming
against His back
He reached down
grabbed my arm
pulled me up
and we rode the wave
together
to the shallow end
He laid me down
on the cement,
scurrying little legs
all around me
“Don’t run!”
someone shouted,
loud and angry,
through the megaphone
“Are you okay?”
He asked
“Thank you.”
I said
He smiled
slapped my back
walked away
as the next whistle blew
Now,
twenty-three years later
as the waves rise
and crash over
my aging flesh
much quicker
much more powerful
than before
I look for Him
over the surface,
the Sun
bright and beaming
as He reaches
down
I look for Him
until the next whistle
Amen
|
Nathaniel Sverlow is a freelance writer of poetry and prose. He was born in 1983 in San Diego, California and moved to Northern California at the age of three. Since then, he has graduated from Sacramento State University and spends most of his time hunched over his computer hunting the Word. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Beyond Reality Zine, Typehouse Literary Magazine, and Literary Orphans. He currently resides in the Sacramento area with four roommates, three cats, and one incredibly supportive girlfriend.
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