River Ooze

Even though she couldn’t swim,
Lena would go down to the river.
She wore a blue bathing suit
and carried a pink swim ring.

She would awkwardly dip 
her tiny feet in the current
and feel its cold sting
on her tiny ankles and  toes.

As the water grew warmer
she would go further
until the swim ring floated 
freely above her chest.

There was a green-brown ooze
that ran perpendicular to what
looked like the shallow part 
of the river that caught her eye.

Her feet touched the bottom easily
and her shoulders were still above 
the water.  She felt she could go 
comfortably farther without the ring.

She tested it.  She let go of the ring,
plunged into the water, pushed her 
her feet off the bottom and emerged 
safely, securely through the pink circle. 

She moved a little bit further,
let go off the ring and tried to 
push her feet off and couldn’t. 
Beneath her, just watery deep.

Lena reached for the ring,
It had floated downstream.
She screamed. Water and mud 
in her mouth drowned it out. 

The foul river ooze was choking her,
suffocating her.  She was sinking.
She hoped someone would see her,
prayed someone would see, hear her.

A glint of yellow suddenly appeared.
A stranger in a yellow cap, one too 
small to contain his head, had grabbed 
her hand and tugged her to the shore.

He put the yellow cap on Lena’s head,
placed the pink swim ring down her body.
He smiled.  Patted her head.  Smiled at her, again.
And disappeared suddenly as he appeared.