many times i saved you from drowning
you kept capsizing the boat
i never was a strong swimmer
it takes all my will power to float
i lay on my back and gaze at the sky
and try not to think of the depths far below
or the shark i saw in your eyes
float
At the Crossing
something has fallen in the river
it must have been some frantic release
the river bed is all whipped up
and the river looks like mud
some creature that was angry and scared
and doesn’t know how to swim has been here
thrashing about and making a stir
you can’t catch fish that way
falling in from the bank instead of staying there
in a far safer place, in the dry
if you can’t swim you should never jump in
unless you have learned how to float
no point throwing another rope now
the creature is gone
The Dreaming Path 