Holding Breath

I cracked the plastic seal and felt the sting,

the sharp, chemical bite of bathroom bleach.

It is a cruel and suffocating thing

that brings the summer back within my reach.

I’m ten years old and sinking like a stone

to find the wavy tile along the floor.

I wanted to be down there, all alone,

away from cousins shouting at the shore.

The blue was thick and quiet in my ears,

the drain a mouth that didn't have a word.

I hid down there from all my early fears

until the silence was the only thing I heard.