A long time ago, when I was young,
Back before I learned to respect
the realities of heat exchange
and the temperature of the Atlantic
in Northern New England, on the coast of Maine
my brother and I went swimming at Wells Beach
The day was in August,
sand burnt my feet,
the water was “refreshing”
until my feet went numb
Minutes later my lips were blue, my skin was white
before I turned red as feeling returned
to my extremities
We shook and chattered
giggling under the blankets
happy as only kids are
but not yet ready
for another dip
2/25/06 20:15
(Raymond A. Foss)
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Based on Topics: Youth Poems, Water Poems, England PoemsBased on Keywords: august, northern, maine, burnt, atlantic, wells, kids, numb, exchange, respect, swimming