Wading (4 parts now, edited... added 3)

[Doreen Peri]

1.
i dipped my toes in the water
then i decided to wade
now i'm up to my waist
but not over my head
I wouldn't have gone so deep
if I didn't feel safe enough to do so
i don't think there are sharks out there
i DO know how to swim

2.
I can dig it!
dig the seashells,
dig the dugout behind
the reef, dig the brief
interlude after getting
suited up, ready for the dive,
dive on in, head first, dig the
bottom of the ocean floor,
back up again for more
and more dives, like a cat
risk my life 7 lives.
The swim's got worth,
It's like a birth from
mamma's womb!
I can dig it!
gonna take a lil toke,
jump on in do the back stroke
but i ain't diggin' my own tomb!
i'll say it once and i'll say it again.
I'm gonna swim!

3.
i've been wading for this moment
for so many years, the wading is
like a pool of tears, my fears are
drowned in it, just the sound of it,
the walking through water makes
me want to immerse and so i write
this verse about wading for the swim
and good god almighty, what have
i got myself in, sorta feels like whirlwind
in an ocean pool or a spa, oh yah!
could it be love or some kind of slick
heart trick, i don't know but it's so
darn precious, like finding a pearl
in a clam all closed up tight and this girl's
gotta go with it, stroke by stroke,
gonna get my goggles on and my
swim cap, dive right down under
to tap the reservoir, swim out
past the breakers, that oughta wake
me up, 'cause i got a giver not a taker,
what kinda luck is that?
that's what i'd like to know
as i feel the tide grow controlled
by the moon, and not a moment
too soon, either, i become a
mermaid, made to create a tsunami
and hey i got nothin' on me but
my ariel suit and the dude's
tellin me i look pretty darn cute
so what the heck? understand?
i doubt very much there's any
quicksand but i got a life jacket
waiting on the barge just in case.
whoosh whoosh.... my mermaid
tails swimmin' all over the place!
maybe this is paradise?
could be by the look
in the lifeguard's eyes.
think he'll save me if i
start to drown? do you
hear the sound of the surf?
of COURSE you do!

4.
I stayed up almost until dawn,
waded out a bit farther up to my neck,
I wore my bikini, with a silver heart on
a long help-call necklace, bracing myself
for the waves, trying hard to subdue the craves
for a swim, I still went in, and right before
I found myself almost fully enveloped in love
for the sea, he rescued me, pulled me ashore
and we fell asleep together arm in arm,
his breathing charming my dreams
and the seagull caws.
And now a new morn,
I adorn myself with a decorative braid,
don my shades, and we walk hand in hand
to a promise land, step by step on dampened sand,
as if on a whim. Later today, we may
possibly dive in and swim together,
totally immersed. And with that thought,
I complete my daily verse.

[dadio]

Good poem, Doreen.

[saw]

I like the way the speaker seems to trying to talk herself into something...
the sanity of her decisions......at the same time seeming to ask, without risk,
what is there ?........life has many stages if we're lucky......some deeper than others........yes ?

[joel]

Wet and wet and
now my hand is
sandy, wavy,
salty— even
easy in its
fluid flits: its
mitzvah blesses
and caresses me,
stresses banished
as I'd wished for—

swished away by
oceans I am
glad I swam in—

ample grace-skin.

[Doreen Peri]

Terry.... thanks!

Steve... well I don't about talking herself into something, more like believing in the water to carry her... like a swimmer does... and yes, taking chances is an important part of life. if we don't take them, what do we have?

Joel.... beautiful reply in verse! I love it. Thank you.


Thank you all for reading!

[joel]

more like believing in the water to carry her... like a swimmer does... and yes, taking chances is an important part of life.

I never thought of that--the act of faith a swimmer has that water, in all its grand fluidity, might actually hold up a human body...especially given how dense our species is prone to be.

[Doreen Peri]

Joel... My sister tells me she can't swim. She says she sinks. I reply, "Of course you can. Everybody is buoyant." You can lie down on the water on your back and float as long as you trust the water and lay your head back on it and relax like the water is your pillow. Works every time. No matter a person's weight, they can float. The water is a metaphor for trust and carrying us through. Many people have saved their own lives by floating on their back..... (the human race my be dense, but mostly it's in our heads.. heh.. perhaps you meant that pun *smile*).

[creativesoul]

waiting for you to come to kauai! totally awesome as usual

[Doreen Peri]

Thanks, Jana! I'd love to come to Kauai!

I'm editing the initial post to add all of the additional sections/parts. (what do you call them? haha)

[creativesoul]

once i wrote a letter, story one, story 2--etc as the person recieving the leter would not be able to follow if it was too complicated[chemo ] aloha

[Doreen Peri]

Jana.... I write letters and poetry I can't even follow. I send them or post them anyway. Many times, I have no idea what they mean. Aloha back to ya!

My sister moved to the big island. Is Kauai on the big island? Just wondering how close you are to her, though I realize even if you both live on the big island, the big island is BIG! hah!.... When I can scrape together $1200 for a plane ticket, I'm going to visit her. I should do it soon while I'm unemployed but it's hard to scrape together that much money for a trip to Hawaii when I need to pay the mortgage.... sighhh

[Arcadia]

hermoso poema!!!!!!!! & Hawaii waits for you!!!!!!!!

[Doreen Peri]

Gracias, mi amiga .... and a lovely piece of art you replied with! (((hugs))

[judih]

arcadia's artwork and this poem belong together.
mermaid and you, bikini designed by ariel
happy ending guaranteed

[creativesoul]

perfect