Diving

Diving

There is this feeling  

That the secrets of life’s  

Most meaningful moments 

Lie beneath the surface.  

So we must dive for them. 

It starts as a kind of shiver. 

A quick intake of breath. 

My hands tremble, 

Slightly in my youth, 

More as I’ve grown older. 

The feeling of something moving 

Just beyond my field of vision. 

Knowing I am in the presence 

Of mysteries, truth? wisdom? love? 

Attention is now imperative. 

A quiet slowing of respiration. 

I wait until it flashes 

Once more below me. 

And I fling myself down 

Into the shining waters. 

Arms outstretched, fingers spread. 

Sometimes it wriggles free 

Flashing off again beyond 

The pastel edges of consciousness. 

But other times, marvelous times, 

I burst up, gasping, to 

The sun-sparkled surface. 

Holding aloft my glittering prize. 

A poem.