For A Time

Water spiraled out in rings
Like the ones in the trees
Like the ones in my head
Climbing up and fading back into itself
Reaching for any break in the routine

I ran rough fingers
Over the smoothest rock I could find,
A flawless grey lost in a mob of
Blemished red and orange
It was hidden deep,
Down by the cool earth
Down where no sunlight could reach

Thumb and index gripping both sides
A flick of the wrist my father taught me
I broke the surface with a plunk,
I threw myself into the river,
I skimmed the surface for a time
Until my momentum slowed
And I sank to the bottom
Tangled in a plastic bag
Tangled in some odds and ends

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