Mason Shreve
Breathing dangerously
We used to practice holding our breath in the dirty
pond behind my house, counting the seconds
like lightyears. One, two, three. ( ) A hundred
& twelve. A hundred & thirteen. Do you remember
how my mom came running out of the house
that one time? How she thought we’d drowned?
But we just popped out of the scummy water
like a couple of Jesus bugs. Don’t worry, I said.
We don’t know how to die. & you just laughed
& laughed & smeared some mud on my skinny chest.
originally published in Little River
We used to practice holding our breath in the dirty
pond behind my house, counting the seconds
like lightyears. One, two, three. ( ) A hundred
& twelve. A hundred & thirteen. Do you remember
how my mom came running out of the house
that one time? How she thought we’d drowned?
But we just popped out of the scummy water
like a couple of Jesus bugs. Don’t worry, I said.
We don’t know how to die. & you just laughed
& laughed & smeared some mud on my skinny chest.
originally published in Little River