[Poetry] Just Another Orphan by Dominik Slusarczyk

I slap the water, hard, with

Arms whirring like

Bicycle pedals.

Once a second, as pedantic as

A metronome, I tilt my

Head and gasp sweet air.

However much I suck my

Lungs cry for more please.

I tell them to shut up.

My head returns to the water and

I power past the pain.

The world is hidden behind

Excited splashing water that pounces

High above me then drips down

All around me.

I feel like a child sat in

A puddle in the pouring rain.

I know my mother will scold me

For ruining my new yellow coat but

I don’t mind.

She always lets me eat cookies anyway.

My blood races around my body.

I can feel it pounding in

My head, my chest, my

Angry kicking legs.

After an eternity I reach

The end of the pool.

I grip the side with white fingers and

Pant as if that was also a race.

They hang a heavy medal off

My throbbing neck.

As the brass band begins to play I

Notice my father standing

And clapping even though it hurts

Whenever he gets out of the chair.

Mother wasn’t allowed to come.

Women aren’t allowed in these swimming pools.

Dominik Slusarczyk is an artist who makes everything from music to painting. He was educated at The University of Nottingham where he got a degree in biochemistry. His poetry has been published in various literary magazines including California Quarterly and Taj Mahal Review. His poetry was nominated for Best of the Net by New Pop Lit. His poetry was a finalist in a couple of competitions.