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Early Morning Lifeguard by Amanda Knight
from Legacy 2003
Early Morning Lifeguard
by Amanda Knight
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Slight or sturdy
and limp of limb,
older ladies wading in,
skirted in suits of older style
with laughing eyes or bitter smile,
padding out with creaking knees
"Can I have a noodle please?"
In morning water they float and drift
as I sit by and bide my shift.
I note their ample sagging breasts,
the men with beards and sloppy chests,
their bodies betray their years of wear
crowned by scant and silver hair,
a line for joy, a line for tears.
They look out at me with resigned gaze-
the knowledge of years and numbered days
Into the water they shuffle and plod,
passing by they give a nod,
but once immersed they glide and swish
like so many happy fish,
unhindered by their weight-born pain
fleeting freedom: emancipation
grace and agility they regain
engulfed in liquid liberation.
