"shoes over water"
//david mcnayr

and so there i hung, swung by my ankles
postulating like a pendulum, back and forth
as to how i may cut loose.

my face, inches from the body
the misty curves and ripples held
tight in the crusted skin of ice
over the formless water
so thin i could melt it
with a single soft breath
through my O-shaped lips.

but it would freeze
right back up as i
inhaled: the thinnest sheet.

and so there i swung, hung by my ankles
hypnotizing the fish below, back and forth
gathering glittering eyes.

my lips, tired from blowing
like an afternoon spent buzzing
too hard through a trumpet
yielded duty to the tongue
dangling its tip in the water
for the fish to come nibble at
with tiny tickling incisors.

but a blue whale hungry for guppies
lunged up and over me, cutting me
loose: empty shoes only hanging.