Veronica Bregman

my body supported by inverted fringes
of a giant jellyfish
wafting willy-nilly in the warm
undercurrents of a sunny
Hawaiian, Hanauma Bay afternoon
could David Copperfield do as well?

cushion me in the coral caverns of
the amniotic fluid of
the calming ocean waves
no-one here to contradict me

that same year in Israel
buoyed up by the rippling Dead sea
my skin soft with velvet veneer left by
salt water crystals
tentatively clinging to the slippery slopes
exploring the cavernous grottoes
of the deep underwater caves
inhabited by an array of green brown weeds
in every conceivable configuration

only in my dreams do i swim
or float
for in reality i sink to the bottom
like a rock
that is between the devil
and the dark blue sea