mammals

Iz dolphin.

He comes out of the water, gushing and panting without pants. Nearly naked, maybe, with speedo snug and chest hair booming and my father, the dolphin.

Iz dolphin. Favourite swim.

And he does swim, back and forth, sometimes underwater, head not raising, breath not evident save for the ripples following him slowly, never quite catching up. The sound of the pool goes away too as I wait for him to resurface.

But the ends cannot be seen and he hasn’t come up for a while. Where did he go? I move one foot into the cold blue. I take a step. I cannot swim.

*

Clear. Full.

Breathe. Closed. Open at same time.

Hard to explain. Just keep all you in all you. Complete. Be complete.

Iz easy. Open mouth. Yes. Hold tongue down. No face. Just hole. Teeth showing. Like yell. No don’t yell. But just breathe. Yes like dog. Hue hue hue. But longer. No time. All time. Full. Clear.

You must breathe before swim. Knowing how to breathe is all swimming iz. Water iz different than air, but same. Moves. Flows. Both clear and full.

But water iz heavy everywhere and unknown. Iz deep and hungry. Needs respect. Is like mouth. Not yours. But closed one. One full and clear.

Look. I show. Watch me. I go.

*

connect connect connect from now to then to then and then to this to that to to too and connect before connect was connect, when it was untied and drowsy and moving like a still body with a mind that does not exist yet but will when each sound is a thing but only a thing and often the wrong thing like an animal wet and dirty after just getting back from the sink which drips though I prefer to flow like his body now in me but different than before from connections like the connection there at the edge of me that is a smaller edge of him, a dot to a line, and he goes under as always, still moving, mostly water himself, and I give him my grace unlike the animal during that thing, that drinking, slurping, hungry animal which I can’t stop thinking about even though there is him, the dolphin, doing and dunking, who is beautiful and breathing but not and yet that animal is there again, dirty, dirty and why and that thing, that small connection is connecting this thought to me, taking me in in mouthfuls and I am becoming it, sinking, total, why why why animal

Disconnect.