it's the summer before third grade
and we go to the swimming pool
it's bluer than the sky
and the water's deep and cool
and at the end it's ten feet deep.
there the tallest man couldn't even stand,
and he's 8 foot 3!
i would throw a penny to the bottom
at the very deep end,
and then we'd race to see who'd grab it first,
and whoever did would win.
and we'd go down
down
down
and the light down here comes in streamers
like the northern lights but in blue and white
and the water down here's getting darker
not the ocean but still there's less light
and the pressure down here
oh the pressure, the pressure!
it's building its pushing my lungs oh they're burning
the water is shifting, constricting my body
it's beating and breaking and pushing and shaking
i'm trapped in the crowd of a liquid never taking
a break just to see how these bubbles are making
their way to the surface where i could be staying
but the penny the penny it's there in my eyes!
i see it my fingers they reach for the prize!
and i almost have it, the cold copper dime
i stretch out again and i've won it! i've! -
..my sister reached out and she withdrew her hand
and now crowded with water i've lost my one cent.
