I used to be afraid of water, certain that I would drown

I don't want it near my face, for the feeling makes me flinch

Flinching in fear, waiting to drown

A fear that's drifted within me since childhood

Ever since my grandmother put me in swim classes

Because she couldn't stand the water near her face

Today, from my mother, I learned why

A father that evaporated like a summer's rain

Who would cleanse her of her sins in the lake yonder

Each splash drenching what was already emaculate

A father who praised God more than she

I've never seen my grandmother swim

Only wade through shallow waters

I used to be afraid of water, for I have waded my whole life

Two generations of sinking behind me, but I will swim