HAPPY CHILD
To my much loved daughter Whitney
HAPPY CHILD
I take a deep breath and submerge under the crystal clear sea,
Sinking my feet firmly in the soft sand, then bend to one knee,
I reach out for a familiar hand that I guide from behind,
Before searching for the second until in darkness I find.
First one small foot is placed gingerly upon my left shoulder,
Then, the second finds a perch after a little fumbling disorder.
Now balanced and steady I place my hands gently right under,
Carefully adjusting to the weight so that I do not fail with a blunder.
Then with a surge of my might erupting from deep within my inner core,
I explode into action in the repeated reaction for more.
Even though my body is exhausted and feeling entirely spent and so sore.
As I break the surface and launch my shrieking happy young load,
She soars through the air until hitting the water that violently explodes.
Then giggling in childish abandon as she emerges from the deep,
She asks me again for my promise yet again to repeatedly keep.
So dutifully I submerge to the bottom again,
She promised I would always be her very best friend.
(2014)
I wrote this poem as a reflection when looking at a photograph taken by my wife Phoebe of me launching my daughter repeatedly on a warm summers day in the crystal clear waters of my homeland Bermuda
