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Drowning – the final count
how strange it is for a man that loves the Sea
to find himself
after a life time
dry drowning
a victim
not of the Sea sirens at all but
simply put
the mammalian diving reflex
I have dreaded
this baptism
as I go down now
for the final count
there is no panic
I’ve passed the
breath hold break point
gone the old familiar
gasping after breath
and I for once
am speechless
evolution by immersion
I’ve beaten the
breathing reflex
itself
I feel the airway
involuntarily relax
here on the brink of
consciousness
I feel the Sea
inside me
and for the first time
I feel wet
this is not drowning sorrows
this is not betting on
the slim chance of surviving
a cold water drowning
this is not the delirium
of asphyxiation
it's an awakening
to the fact that
I have been
drowning
that the Sea and I are one
and in her bosom we
are undone
as I awaken from that sea
of my own
creation
naked and
wet
I find that I can
stand on tip toe here
the sky is blue and the water
clear
and You
stand waving
at the shore
