She Stopped Floating When She Learned to Swim

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In her seventh summer, she chose brave instead of safe.

Instead of relying on trusty water wings, she learned to float
Even though she sank like a stone the first time
(And the next time wasn’t much better).

When she could float for hours, she relaxed into sun-sparkled warmth,
Allowed waves to drift her where they would
While she listened to whale songs and dolphin stories.

Tired of bumping into the old ladies standing at the shallow end,
She begged the nicest lifeguard to teach her how to swim:
I need to be able to go where I want to go.

Determined her put her scared face into water, blew air bubbles out
Instead of breathing in like Ariel and her sister mermaids did,
Divided her tail into powerful legs and feet,

Cupped her hands and pulled herself forward
In glorious, splashing joy to move like a fish
Newly born to discover underwater wonders,

The ones only a brave swimmer can see,
Especially when she is seven and learned to swim
So she could be mermaid beautiful and dolphin proud.