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PAR T The Lifeguard In a stable of boats I lie still, From all sleeping children hidden. The leap ofa fish from its shadow Makes the whole lake instantly tremble. With my foot on the water, I feel The moon outside Take on the utmost ofits power. I rise and go out through the boats. I set my broad sole upon silver, On the skin ofthe sky, on the moonlight, Stepping outward from earth onto water In quest ofthe miracle This village ofchildren believed That I could perform as I dived For one who had sunk from my sight. I saw his cropped haircut go under. I leapt, and my steep body flashed Once, in the sun. Dark drew all the light from my eyes. Like a man who explores his death By the pull ofhis slow-moving shoulders, I hung head down in the cold, Wide-eyed, contained, and alone Among the weeds, And my fingertips turned into stone From clutching immovable blackness. The Lifeguard / 73 ONE ...

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