a child like thing that i plunged
was shot off the red clay
and grass
directly into the river
that creeped
as if on stilts

my heart swelled
as i was immersed
and ever single fiber in me
sang
smiling son hard i forgot
not to breathe under water

it was her black eyes
the angel
that drew me to the slender arms
of my savior

only to leave me on the shore
alive.