What Actually Sinks

My nephew asked me if quicksand was real

and I told him yes, but not like the movies.

You won't disappear. Your body is buoyant.

It's slow. It requires specific conditions.

He looked disappointed.

I was seven when I learned about it—

some film in science class showing a man

sinking to his waist, then nothing,

then nothing, then he was gone.

I spent the next three years

terrified of the beach,

of any soft ground,

of the idea that the earth

could open up and take you

while you stood still.

But the beach is just wet sand.

It holds you. Mostly.

The ground doesn't want to swallow you.

It's just there, patient,

the same as always.

My nephew nodded.

He didn't look scared anymore.

I don't know what he'll be afraid of instead.