Valentine's Creek Poem by Clyde King

We ran down an old
Rotting vertebra
Bleached white
By the sun and saltwater

And dove in intending
To swim across fifty
Yards or so of
Brackish Jelly Fish
Filled water called
Valentine's Creek

I dove in after my
Older brother Sonny
And his friends all older
Than my five or six years
On this planet and I
Tried to keep up

But couldn't because
I just couldn't
Do it and I got
So tired my arms and legs
Stopped moving
And I started to sink

It was then I grasped
The reality of death
My father never came
Back from the Korean War
So I got the news flash

Keep on kicking your feet
And moving your arms
Keep your head up
And breathe

June 2005