Breath & Shadow
2006 - Vol. 3, Issue 6
"Waterwalking"
written by
Nancy Scott
Stay in the corner
of the pool where your mother
puts you. Get your head jumped on
by a taller boy who yells "Watch
where you're going."
Tell him you can't,
hope he'll be shocked,
but stay in your space
measured in waves
sent by those who swim
away from walls.
Until your brother
offers to waterwalk—
your feet on his, your
hands on his shoulders.
Dance to the forbidden middle
knowing rough cement
makes his feet bleed.
Balanced on vision,
laugh when you fall.
Nancy Scott is an essayist and poet. She has been published in local newspapers, national magazines, and anthologies including: Byline, Cup of Comfort, Northeast Corridor, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Sound Journey. Two of her poems from her chapbook, Hearing the Sunrise, appear in the disability anthology Staring Back.