Narrative Poem

a poem based on a memory: jumping off a cliff into a lake in natomas, same lake that claimed your friends life)


A Flash of Natomas 

I longed to feel the risk.

The tall rigid trees whistled

Through the leaves, the sun beamed

Down on my back, halting

The drops that refused

To dry.

Nothing was moving yet

Time seemed to be going

Too fast to keep up.

I feared the consequence but they were waiting

For me on the other side of the Rocky hill

Across this still yet deceiving basin

It could wave

It could swirl

It could twist, thrash, and twirl

It could sallow a large truck just as easy as a penny

It could creative memories

Of BBQ’s, family, or fishing

It could claim a dear old friend and refuse

To give him back

It hides what is underneath

Never knowing what is true, leaving only one way

In seconds, I watched

The blues, greys, and greens blur

To lines leading me to my fate.

I felt the same jerk that day as I did when my mom’s car hit

The tree last summer on the highway

The splash calmed.

The whole 20 seconds your body moves

Lifelessly with the water your heart stops

There is a glance of non-existence

A second longer

Your body jerks up from its sleep

For that taste of air or someone, anyone

To save you from this prison

Who is the true monster?

The cool crisp calm water

That stripped the air from my lungs

Leaving me gasping for sweet life,

Or me

Who willingly stayed there.