Sink Or Swim Poem by Jon Edward Walker

once I fell into
an irrigation canal
I hadn’t learned to swim yet
and the bars that blocked
large objects
from being pulled underground
for many miles
were 10 feet away
I wasn’t a large object
I was 8
frantically I clawed at the bank
which crumbled again and again
falling into the water with me
I was slowly moving downstream
as I tried
to escape.
My heart raced
as I fought both to
stay afloat
and be free
my brother
and friend
stood still,
in shock
as my head bobbed
in and out of the water
gasping for breath
it’s either
sink or swim,
alone
I swim