the Drowning

you held
your breath
under water
glacial cold and threatening
mercy--blue,
trembling--
like these skins

of lake
and land
and air

this body,
this carefree (and handsome)
edifice remains unsteady
(if not precarious)
with hairline fractures
in once arrogant cement

You are both
dizzy and nervous,
under attack
from a handful of faults
and the tremors
who will worry you
out of your old costume--
some insurrection--
until naked they pull you,
(your shimmering scales)
from the stream

my lungs
are full
of you
one gulp
of green
river and

for a moment

I am invincible
gliding
inside
another planet's
atmosphere
I breathe
alien dreams

I am a fish
out of water
out of air
gasping...

if not me
then at least
my corpse will be
famous...

my face projected there
my faith corrupted here
and the whole
thing scattered
like legends
defending lies

what is the truth
of this accident:
heroic convenience,
or something more
sloppy, the toppling
of city blocks
by mere vibration
or the last breath
of an angry
(alienated)
god?