3542. THAT GUTTURAL EMBRACE

THAT GUTTURAL EMBRACE

That guttural embrace, like of two

border guards grumbling, two prisoners

enticed, why it must mean something.

I am watching the curtain for the wrestlers

to come out. Each one would embody a myth,

each a mythological craft of being.

-

Boys are playing shipwreck in the enclosed

waters of the pool. Nothing can harm them, so

they can afford to do whatever they wish: a

bombast with piracy, the saber-rattling of a

fool, walking a plank blindfolded. Ho-ho-hum,

and a bottle of rum; whatever that old rhyme is.

-

I take a lamp down from the shelf. An old

kerosene lantern for storms, something far

from today  -  another time and another place.

I place it forward on the diving board, after I've

already lit the wick. 'I want to be your light

beacon,' I announce. The boys look up,

and they begin to laugh.