Toys drown
in the shallow end.
The quest
for more chlorine.
Someone slips
a cannonball.
Another balks
a dive.
I’m on the ladder
next in line
Wet feet. Dry throat
and pounding heart—
my sea legs
turned to gooseflesh.
Frank William Finney’s poems have been featured in many journals and anthologies including Dark Winter Literary Magazine, Four Tulips,The Fowl Feathered Review, Freedom 250 (Moonstone Press), The RavensPerch, and elsewhere. His latest collection is Preludes to Lethe (Kelsay Books, 2026). Find him online at frankwilliamfinney.net
