Thoughts from the Drowning Girl
By Annie Przypyszny
Based on Roy Liechtenstein’s 1963 painting
I’d rather sink
than call Brad for help;
better to careen down
the depths of the sea,
past the coral, the pearl,
the mother-of-pearl,
where the diamond
of the sun doesn’t glint.
I know if I hollered his name,
he’d come diving;
catch me
in his big, greedy arms;
pull me
to shore like a goddamn hero,
like a master angler;
kiss me
and kiss me until I vomit
up the brackish water.
But then I’d be stuck with him,
a reluctant leech. Let him
save me, and in a year
I’ll be having his babies,
little Brads who call me
“Sweet Mommy” as they pull
at my hair and follow me
into the bathroom. Listen,
when it comes down to it
I don’t even mind
that I’m drowning.
Women drown—
it’s an escape.
And sometimes,
when we’ve sunk
low enough
we grow
these invisible gills
under our arms,
on the cushiony fat
of our hips;
we breathe
where we’ve been told
no one’s ever breathed,
not even our Brads,
not even our Fathers.Annie Przypyszny is a poet from Washington, DC. She is the Associate Poetry Editor for The Adirondack Review as well as the Special Projects Editor for Grace and Gravity. She has poems published or forthcoming in The Northern Virginia Review, Pacifica Literary Review, The Healing Muse, North Dakota Quarterly, Tupelo Quarterly, Ponder Review, and others.
Upcoming Events:
3/7-3/11 / AWP / Booth #1226
3/10 / AWP / Town Hall, Seattle, WA / Off Site. On Purpose. A poetry reading with NELLE, MER, & SWWIM / Doors open at 6:30 PM.
3/15 / The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Poetry Reading with Suzanne Frischkorn and Susannah Winters Simpson
3/15 / The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Meet the Artist Suzanne Frischkorn
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