Sherry Stuart-Berman

Lake Pantoum

it was ten minutes, if that
we saw him bobbing there
that boy, so quiet
didn’t call out, wave his hand

we saw him bobbing there
(three giggly girls in a circle)
didn’t call out, wave our hands
say, nice water, huh?

giggly girls in a circle
heard no sound no sound
my sister said, nice water
five feet deep

no sound no sound
then shouts on shore
only five feet deep
they pulled his body out

on shore, on shore
that boy     so quiet
they carried him out
it was ten minutes, if that

Sherry Stuart-Berman is a psychotherapist in private practice. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Paterson Literary Review, 2 Horatio, Atticus Review, Blue Fifth Review, and Rise Up Review, among others, and in the anthologies Malala: Poems for Malala Yousafzai and Drawn to Marvel: Poems from the Comic Books. She lives in Staten Island, NY, with her husband and son. 

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