Stepping out into the waves
so innocent and carefree,
Without thought or consequence
in my young naïveté.
Splashing and a-swimming there
until a crashing wave
Engulfed me in its hidden depths
and soon pulled me away.
Terror filled my childish soul
what was I to do?
I thought that I'd been safe just here
with mummy still in view.
I raised my hand in fervent hope
that I somehow would be seen
Although the current pushed and pulled
the ground from under me.
Crying out through desperate tears
I thought that I would die
When suddenly a red and yellow cap
appeared there at my side.
Encircled safely in his arm
and swimming back to shore
He saved my life that Easter from
the surf I swim no more.
"This was written for the "Nonfiction Nook" in the WOSIB Literary Group (my first submission) about a frightening incident which happened to me where I had to trust a complete stranger to "save" me. It happened to be a day at the beach when I was about 10 or 11, when I was playing in the surf and the sand simply gave way beneath me! And soon I was struggling for my life....being pulled out further from the shore. A frightening experience for anyone, least of all a child. This poem is written in reflection of that incident which, to this day, has kept me from venturing too far in the surf."
bravenet.com
