I Was Afraid, by Crystal Condakes Karlberg

Sun, Water, Maine, by Georgia O'Keeffe (USA). 1922.

I Was Afraid

Lost among the rings of the sun, my voice
was too bleached to be heard. When
 
the waves roll in and roll in, it’s impossible to imagine 
that underneath they are rolling out and taking

all those things you didn’t know you wanted.
The waves are openings I try to throw my grief into,
 
but the rocks sink and I am unchanged. I was afraid 
I’d get pulled under by a third child,

so I turned my back and now I can’t save him,
or have him. He’s just a collection of light 

on the water. I can’t even hold him, 
he slips through my arms.

Crystal Condakes Karlberg

Crystal Condakes Karlberg: "I'm a graduate of the Creative Writing Program at Boston University. I recently went back to school to get certified to teach Middle School English. I have had work published in The Prompt; spoKe; Tupelo Quarterly; Mom Egg Review (this poem was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize); Best New Poets 2015."

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