She still hears the sound of her own
name in his voice, sees someone
young and slim on the sand
and gravel floor of the lake,
his arms held open like a door,
while, through a cloud of August algae,
she dog-paddles toward him,
and he gathers her in, the one friend
who commended her first solo
swim. She wonders whether he ever
came here with someone of his own,
and if, in the end, he had a long
healthy life. Did he marry? If so,
who was his husband or wife?
