If You’ve Ever Drowned
Have you ever wished to take a breath
As water closes in to fill your chest?
You see the surface just beyond your reach.
You’re still inadequate, though at your best.
You wonder how the others learned to swim.
So effortless it seems for them to breathe.
They splash and play and bask upon the shore.
Meanwhile, the waters batter you and seethe.
It isn’t long before you cease to wonder
If anyone is coming to your aid.
You’ve called and pleaded for someone to help
As they all sip their drinks along the shade.
But under water, tears cannot be seen.
And when submerged, your screams cannot be heard.
Although the sun upon the surface shines,
The light’s refracted, and its rays are blurred.
Distorted faces gawk from up above
But fail to recognize your desperate state.
Of course, they’ve never had to hold their breath;
Why should they be expected to relate?
The buoyancy of ignorance prevails
In their small world of fantasy and dreams.
They barely see through their translucent lens,
So blinded by the unobstructed beams.
You kick and fight with dissipating strength
Against the draw that pulls you toward the depth.
You know just what awaits you in the dark.
You’ve been there and appreciate the breadth.
You felt the unimaginable weight
and narrowly escaped from your last bout.
The circumferential crush of the abyss
Once held you, and you barely made it out.
But if you persevere and breach the surface
And stay just long enough breathe it in,
The inhalation that expands your lungs
Allows for your emergence to begin.
You find that after threat of suffocation
The air you now breathe in somehow tastes sweet.
You’d forgotten how it feels to not be fighting.
You’re glad just for the ground beneath your feet.
From icy waters, tepid air feels warm.
Once-deafened ears won’t disregard the lark.
A subtle glow amidst the somber clouds
Draws eyes just liberated from the dark.
While others float and gaze up toward the sky
Not looking for the treasure that you’ve found,
You know to take a breath and search nearby.
You’ll see the beauty if you’ve ever drowned.
Katie Devine is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from Marlton, NJ. Her father, a brilliant English major, environmental lawyer, and poet, ensured that she was exposed to a plethora of literature and history. He would claim, although this has never been substantiated, that Katie was quoting Shakespeare at the age of four. It wasn’t until his sudden, tragic death in 2020 that she began to write.
Good thing that you began to write, Katie, because you do it very well. I think your father would be proud that his daughter wrote this poem.