The Thing About Drowning

(This poem was originally published in The Aurora Journal in Spring 2024.)

And suddenly, the waves are overwhelming you.

That’s the thing about drowning —

It is always sudden. And it is always slow. 

Water leaches into your lungs —

Taking up the space where air used to be. 

It surrounds you. Confuses you. Consumes you. 

Condemns you.

Drowning is an act of betrayal. 

You trusted the water. You floated along the sea foam.

You fell in love with the waves. 

But the ocean does not love, 

And you are in over your head. 

This is a lesson you are learning far too late. 

Now, you become one with the waves.