Sunshine Smile
This is not simply a re-working of "Someone's Drowning In Your Pool" which is explained below. I knew after what had happened that I could not give the original poem to Kelly.
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wz0zzz@yahoo.com
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Sunshine Smile
Sitting up there so high off the sand
You're that pretty little lady in pink
You can wisp away my clouds with a wave of your hand
And ooh that sunshine smile has got me on the brink
I'm sure you get a hundred guys a day
That ask you out on dates and even more
But I don't want to compete, I wish they'd go away
Then i might get a chance to swim upon your shore
If I lay on the beach and say nothing to you at all
It'll go down in history as no more than a whim
So I'd better hurry up before the summer turns to fall
I guess I've got no choice, it looks like sink or swim
You are as beautiful as the sunshine that you bring
Oh pretty lady that is really what i think
But I'm kinda shy and a little green at this sortta thing
So if you like me, give me a smile and a wink
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Someone's Drowning In Your Pool & Sunshine Smile
On the surface these two poems appear to be the same poem with a few minor changes. But the story behind why I re-worked it and made the changes is more significant than the poems themselves. At best they are average poems and I'm including them here because of the story surrounding them, not because they represent good poetry.
It was the summer of 1985 and I was working as an Assistant Manager of a gas station. It was an easy job but there was a lot of paperwork to do each morning and I had to be in by 6am. I wasn't a morning person and usually waited till later in the morning to start working on it. This particular day I was esspecially tired for some reason and waited till around 12 Noon to start it. After I finished the paperwork I started thinking about Kelly, one of the lifeguards at the swimming pool in the park who I liked very much. She was absolutely beautiful and usually wore a pink bathing suite that fit her so nicely.... Well anyway, I was supposed to leave work at 2pm and made it a regular routine to go swimming in the pool when I got out. It was a short walk from work and it was a particularly hot day that afternoon. About a half hour before I was supposed to leave I finally finished my paperwork and felt a very strong and sudden inspiration to write a poem for her. It seemed to take forever to write and I was late leaving work by around a half hour. No matter I thought, I was looking forward to seeing Kelly and giving the poem I had written to her called "Someone's Drowning In Your Pool". I had put it in an envelope and had it in my pocket as I walked to the park. As I entered the park, I noticed a lot of people leaving. It seemed odd that so many people were leaving all at the same time. As I approached the pool area I noticed no one was there and saw Kelly leaving and walking in my direction. The pool never closed early before so I asked her what had happened. She told me a young boy had drowned. She was obviously shaken up so I walked her to her house, just outside the park across the street. At that point I had forgotten about the poem. When I got home I found it in my pocket and opened the envelope to read it. I realized that I was writing a poem about drowning in her pool at the very same moment that a little boy was doing just that. At first I was just glad I hadn't thought to give the poem to her. But then I started thinking about it and wondered how such a tragic irony could happen. I thought that if I had done my paperwork earlier and left work on time I would have been at the pool instead of still at work writing that poem. I was in the habbit of getting in the pool as soon as I arrived and swimming laps underwater with my eyes open so I could see anyone in my way and not bump into them. I thought that if I had been there on time, I would have seen the boy drowning because I would have been swimming from end to end of the pool. There's almost no way I would not have seen him. Why wasn't I there? I have often wondered if God made sure I had a reason to be late that day. If God decided it was his time, he would have to make sure I wasn't there to get in the way. The circumstances had to happen just the way they did, or he would not have drowned. Or was it just a terrable coincidence? I know there's no way to change things, but I've carried a certain feeling of guilt for being lazy that day. There's no way to know when somethng like that will happen, but still I know I would have seen him and I'll never know if I could have made a difference. It bothers me, fate bothers me. I have no faith to know if fate is a real thing decided by God, or just something made up by people looking for a way to place the blame on someone else. If God does exist, I hope he'll explain a few things before he sends me to Hell for all the rest of my sins.
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Another poem coming soon.
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Another poem coming soon.
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My friends' home pages, favorite URLs, other pages on my web site.
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Talk City chat rooms where you'll find me.
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A Question Of Faith, The Great Unknown & HAve You Heard The Word? - Poems of faith, or lack thereof
The Family Way, Quarter Life Crisis - Poems about family distress
Chapter 2 - Back to the main poetry page
Index - Main Index with all pages in chapters 1 & 2
Save A Starving Poet - Donate to a Poet in need
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Save A Starving Poet - Donate to a Poet in need
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