My Heads Underwater Poem by Rachel N W

"Hold your breath, steady yourself, " he said.
"I don't know how, " I stammered, panic breaking my voice.
"You don't have to know, just move."
"But what if I go under? " I whispered, my chest tightening.
"You won't… unless you stop trying."

I paddled — arms thrashing, lungs burning,
hands searching for something, someone —
but the waves were indifferent.

I was tired.
My head slipped beneath the surface.
I gasped, borrowed breath turning to desperate hope.
There was no one to save me,
only hands that held me down.

It hurt to know that if I had trusted my strength,
I might have floated.
Or drowned.
Either way, it would have been mine to own.

They drifted further,
their backs turned as I sank.
And there, in the quiet of the depths,
I saw the rope in my own hands,
knotted with fear,
frayed by doubt.

I let it slip.
Not them.

The water embraced me,
silent,
as I sank into myself.