If You Are Consumed
If you are consumed with grief,
pick a fight with water, for chlorine
will sting your eyes
and in the backstroke you can flail
and lament.
You can never
cry too much in a swimming pool.
In the locker room, bitch
at the hair dryer to perfect strangers
that you've got allergies and the chlorine
is ruining your hair, makes
your eyes bloodshot, and your nose
runny. The fight with water
is a faith strengthening
exercise for by grace alone,
you float.
© Gayle M. Petty
Commissioned by the
Minnesota Museum of American Art
Water Words Exhibit
Originally published in Crania