Sands of Indian Wells:

Blue haze of the salt water,

jubilant birthday cheers muffled

I plunge deeper, eyes on fire,

lungs beg for air,

I push up forward

rays of fading sunlight blind me

a brother is baiting a sister,

a mother looks to the father,

who looks on fondly

his father celebrates his eightieth birthday

It’s all I can do to keep from bawling

I sink underwater

and like a weight sit at the pools bottom

until my lungs ache, then scream

until I convulsively push upward

breaking the surface cleanly

gasping in air like its a heroin addicts next fix

I plunge back under and sink to the bottom

It’s all I can do to keep from bawling