Cala de del Descanso

(Cala de del Descanso–meaning small bay of rest)

 

Today they removed your body from the waters

of Descanso Bay. They said your car did not sink

quickly but bobbed nose down on the seal skin surface,

enough time to crawl out safe, make it back in time.

 

They say you sped down the steep hill, broke through the steel

barrier and landed on the deck of the docked

ferry. There you floored it, crashed through the raised metal

apron and launched off the loading ramp into waves

of sea below. I once jumped from a river bluff.

 

I remember falling, plummeting from the sky.

It was only a few seconds but time slowed down

enough to pray, think of loved ones and see jagged

slices of rock peer up at me. When my feet hit

the water, I shot like a torpedo losing

 

my bikini and breath. I swam up through the dark

layers towards an infinity of greener

light. Each layer like a silk dress sequined in flecks

of gold, bubbles that blistered and broke while I tried

to ascend my body through its frosted neckline.

 

You stayed fastened in your seat, gripped the steering wheel

and waited to sink like a stone. You held your ground

even when the damp sea air taunted your nostrils

and throat before fully taking your breath away.

 

(From the forthcoming book, Crows Taste Best on Toast from Lady Lazarus Press)

Pamela is a Gabriola poet and writer who resides there with her husband and two children. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines, anthologies and websites. She is the author of two chapbooks of poetry: Something from Nothing (Writing Knights Press) and Woodwinds (Lipstick Press). Pamela’s first full length poetry collection, Crows Taste Best on Toast is forthcoming this summer from Lady Lazarus Press. When Pamela is not writing, she’s sleeping. She believes sleep is death without the commitment.